EL: D Original
by QueenPersephoneofHades
Summary: UNDER MAJOR REVISION! REWRITE IN PROGRESS!
1. Prologue: Disappearing

Artemis ducked behind another tree as a blast of hell-fire flew past her, blazing a trail of destruction through the forest she was in. Great. It just _had _to be Klarion who'd been stealing the supplies from Stone City. Apparently he'd been doing it 'for fun', since he'd been 'bored' ever since Dr. Fate had been removed from power a few months ago.

The Team had been sent to investigate, but all they ended up doing was finding Klarion and pissing him off; royally. So, that was how they found themselves under heavy fire (literally) from his spells as they tried to fight him off without getting burned to a crisp.

Miss Martian had been captured quite easily, along with Superboy after he flipped out when she'd been scorched by a blast. Kaldur had soon joined them after getting burned extensively all over his arms and chest. The three of them were now imprisoned in a magic cage floating next to the demented Witch Boy, and he took great joy in randomly shocking them full of lightning.

Wally was somewhere out of Artemis' sightline, probably busy running into traps on accident or getting pelted with fire bombs. Zatanna and Rocket were holding their own, Rocket keeping a kinetic shield around them while Zatanna tried to use several different spells to attack Klarion. He simply flicked them away like pieces of paper, calling them 'amateur spells' and 'baby magic' before blasting the force field so hard Rocket almost dropped it.

The thing that worried her the most, however, was that she hadn't seen Robin once since the battle began. Was he hurt? Had Klarion captured him, or sent his messed-up familiar Teekl after him? Or had he been….. hit by one of the fire spells?

Artemis doubted the last option – she'd seen Robin train back at the Mountain before, and he hardly ever got hit by anything they threw at him – but just the thought of it made her sick to her stomach. Robin was, after all, the only other complete human on the Team, and one of her best friends; there was no way she'd let him die.

Artemis was pulled out of her worried musing when a huge shower of batarangs rained down from the ceiling, making her grin a little. _There he was!_

But her ecstasy evaporated when the batarangs bounced harmlessly off of Klarion's shield and exploded in midair. A huge hand made of red energy shot out of Klarion's bubble and disappeared for a moment in the dark, before reappearing with a figure clasped in it; Robin. Artemis' breath caught in her throat.

'No!' she thought, terrified. She'd been keeping an eye on the cage, and she was pretty damn sure if a human with no special abilities was shocked like that a couple of times, they'd be dead in a minute.

"Klarion!" she yelled, diving out of her hiding place with an arrow pulled taut on her bowstring. Releasing it at the hand, she winced as it disintegrated uselessly on it.

"Oh, lookie! Archer Girl wants to play!" Klarion cackled, making Artemis wince even more – God, he had such an annoying laugh! "Let us oblige her, Teekl!"

Suddenly the energy-hand snapped back, flinging Robin around like a doll and launching him at her. Artemis screeched a little in surprise as they collided, thrown back to the other side of the clearing by the force of the throw.

Robin recovered first, rolling onto his hands and knees and glancing down at her, rubbing his head ruefully. "You okay?" he asked, all traces of his usual goofy nature completely gone. It was a little unnerving to see him so serious, but Artemis ignored that fact and nodded at him anyway.

They both got to their feet and turned to Klarion, ready to fight for all they were worth.

But suddenly Teekl meowed loudly at his owner, making him glance over. "Aw, really? I was just getting started!" Klarion complained, sighing dramatically.

Artemis' eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but Robin seemed to pick up on something. "The League is coming!" he exclaimed in hushed tone, grinning over at her triumphantly.

Artemis would've let out a whoop, but Klarion's next words stopped her. "Well, if I must go, I may as well give my old friends a parting gift!" he cackled before turning toward the two humans and lashing his hand out, encasing them both in an energy field.

Artemis cried out in shock and tried to struggle free, but her efforts were wasted. Robin was tense, but his face remained neutral.

Klarion grinned, and for a moment, his sinister voice was all she could hear. "I'll send you somewhere they'll never find you, and your death shall be assured! _Eid ot leirmat ot meht dnes!_" Klarion chanted.

And with that, there was a flash of violet light, and the two humans were gone.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~*~S**

"NO!" Zatanna screamed as her friends vanished. She collapsed to her knees, tears tracking down her face, and she ignored the fact that Klarion escaped and Rocket let down the force field.

"Zatanna! Get a hold of yourself!" Rocket exclaimed at her, but it was muffled, distant.

She knew the spell Klarion had used; she'd read about it, a long time ago, in one of her father's books about forbidden spells. It was only used a few other times before, to send ones enemy to a realm of eternal torment. There wasn't a crueler spell in existence. 'And now Robin and Artemis are….' Her thought broke off as she shook her head fiercely. 'No! That can't be true! There must be some way to bring them back!'

Before she could think of any way to fix this situation, Wally suddenly shot past her in a blur of yellow to go help M'gann and Kaldur up from where they'd been left to fall in a heap.

"The League's almost here! What happened?" he asked, his eyes landing on her and Rocket. Rocket shrugged, but the answer to his question caught in Zatanna's throat and she clamped her mouth shut. If she had to explain, she'd rather do it once, in front of the League.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~*~S**

** A/N: Ho-ly CRAP! New fanfiction already? ! Yes. This plot bunny has been bugging the crap out of me for a while, so I finally decided to act on it! Now, this story is only going to be updated on Saturdays, so I don't want any of those shitty 'please update soon' reviews! LEAVE A REAL REVIEW! And also, don't just read this and favorite it; I want to know what you think of it! Anyway, see you next week!**

** ~Persephone**


	2. Chap 1: Awakening

Artemis' head throbbed in tune with her heartbeat, making her screw her eyes up in pain. She could tell it was light out, but she refused to wake up yet; at least until her headache dulled a little bit.

Slowly, awareness began to seep back into her aching body; the sound of birds chirping somewhere in the distance; the feel of the cold air around her and the cold hard ground under her; the pain of something sharp stabbing her head on said ground.

Carefully, Artemis rolled away from whatever sharp thing that had been poking her, and she forced her eyes open silently.

Harsh sunlight made her blink them closed for several seconds, and she had to squint for several more precious seconds to allow her vision to adjust before she forced her eyes open to look around. A blue sky and bright sun were above her, along with the branches of a few trees.

Artemis winced. Had Klarion knocked them out and thrown them into the forest? That's what seemed to have happened… As quickly as she could manage, Artemis sat up, taking in everything around her.

They were in a small clearing surrounded by large trees, with no sign of a magic battle anywhere in sight. Fresh snow had fallen here and there, making Artemis stiffen in surprise; last she remembered, it had been the middle of April; there hadn't been any snow left by then.

'What is going on?' she thought slowly, shifting her position and feeling the material on her arms. It was different, and she had no mask on anymore. Blinking in surprise, Artemis stared at her body. Her hair was down from its usual ponytail, and she was wearing a medieval-century type dark green dress with long sleeves and a pair of old-fashioned brown leather hiking boots. Turning around, Artemis jumped when she realized Robin was sitting up, dressed in similarly outdated clothes, except his were in dark shades of red and grey-brown.

"What the hell is going on?" she muttered, rubbing at her head and glaring at her untied hair ruefully, as if that would put it back into a ponytail.

"No idea!" exclaimed Robin, stretching leisurely and looking completely calm with the situation they found themselves in. His clothes, a dark red shirt, grey-brown pants and leather hiking boots, didn't seem quite right on him, considering Artemis was used to seeing him in his ridiculous traffic-light Robin costume…. It took about five seconds for Artemis to realize Robin wasn't wearing a mask either, making her gape openly like a fish as she pointed this out.

"You! You're the kid – the freshman from school!" she gasped, shocked. "The one who took a picture of me on the first day!"

Robin, or Richard, Artemis supposed now, grinned at her expression. "I told you we'd laugh about it someday, didn't I?" he asked, his now-visible crystal blue eyes sparking in amusement.

Artemis scowled at him, but he didn't seem to notice. Robin – Richard, Artemis reminded herself – got to his feet and looked around with a slightly perplexed look on his face. "Any idea where we are?" he asked, looking down at her.

Artemis shook her head as she got to her feet beside him. "No idea. I thought maybe Klarion tossed us somewhere in the woods or something like that, but….." she stopped mid-sentence and just shrugged to show her confusion.

Rob-_Richard _hummed in response, his eyes darting everywhere and analyzing everything like a computer. "This is certainly an interesting mystery," he murmured, chewing his lip a little in apprehension.

Richard narrowed his eyes and tilted his head, as if remembering something. "Hold on," he began, "Didn't Klarion say a spell when he captured us?"

Artemis tilted her head as well now. "Yes?" she said, slightly unsure; everything that had happened right before she woke up was a bit of blur now.

"He could've teleported us somewhere," Richard suggested, gesturing to the woods around them, "-so we ended up here."

"Yeah," Artemis said slowly. It was coming back to her now – Robin getting captured, her reacting, Robin getting tossed at her and then both of them getting captured. She grimaced at that part; why had they been so useless? Normal humans always seemed to be the ones taken out first in a fight.

Suddenly, a memory came back to her and she gasped, turning to Richard sharply. "He – Klarion – he said he was sending us somewhere no one would find us, and that our deaths would be assured! What did he mean by that? !" she exclaimed, her fists clenching as if to get ready for a fight.

Richard's eyes narrowed again as he looked around them carefully. "Klarion is not originally a part of our plane of existence," he said slowly. "It could be that he sent us to a different dimension; one that only a Lord of Chaos or Order could access. With Doctor Fate gone, it could mean that we won't be found by the League anytime soon."

This of course did nothing to help Artemis' mood, and she plopped onto a rock dejectedly. "Terrific," she sighed, "So we're stuck here then?"

"Not necessarily," said Richard, though Artemis could tell he was being optimistic for her sake, "Maybe there's a way for us to find a way back; you know, if there's a Lord of Order in this dimension who'd be willing to help us."

"And what are the odds of that?" asked Artemis, looking up at him skeptically.

Richard sighed, his shoulders drooping. "One in a million, actually," he said, and he plopped down on the rock beside her, his mouth twisting in unease.

"So we're stuck here together, alone, until League can come and find us? No wonder Klarion sent us here; we'll die of utter boredom!" Artemis exclaimed.

Richard scoffed at her indignantly. "Are you saying I'm boring?" he asked, acting completely offended, though Artemis could clearly see the mischief in his blue eyes.

"Yes, you're very boring. I'm sorry I had to be the one to tell you," she said in mock seriousness, patting his shoulder mournfully as if she'd told him he had cancer.

Richard looked heartbroken. "And here I thought I was fun to be around!" he exclaimed, blinking his eyes madly as if to get rid of tears.

Artemis couldn't take it; she laughed, making Richard grin. "Well, now that _that _is out of the way, let's say you and I explore!" he said, getting to his feet once again.

Artemis stood up as well, grinning widely at her younger friend. "Alright, but if we must, _you _have to escort me!" she said, offering her arm.

Richard grinned even wider and bowed dramatically. "My lady, it would be an honor to escort you through this lovely forest!" he exclaimed before tangling his arm is hers.

Then, together, they began to trek through the woods.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

** A/N: Did you like my attempt at comedy? I know, it wasn't that funny, but whatever! Oh, and the reason I don't have Robin's real name as 'Dick' is because A: I hate that name, B: I feel awkward writing it as a name, and C: I love the name Richard! Just for all you true Robin fans! Anyway, see you all next chapter, huh? OH BTW: I will sometime soon be posting a side-story to this fic where the League and the Team get to see what's happening in Skyrim, so if you want to see that just tell me in a review or something!  
~Persephone**


	3. Chap 2: Capture

**A/N: Wow, it's been a while hasn't it? Ehehe…. Well, I didn't actually think anyone really read this story; I thought it was one of my least popular! But, when I checked my profile poll recently it said this was the most voted-for story out of all of my others, so I decided I'd try to get back into it. For all you fans out there, if you _really _want me to continue, make sure to either vote for this on my profile poll or SEND A REVIEW PLEASE!**

** YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

"So, we're really stuck in another dimension of some sort?" Artemis asked as she and Richard walked through the trees, both of them wandering aimlessly as they had no real destination in mind here.

"It looks like it. I don't recognize half of the trees here, and there aren't any mountain ranges like the ones around us anywhere in the world," Richard said crisply, seeming unconcerned with the whole idea of being separated from his family in another dimension.

"That's just like Klarion, the bastard," Artemis muttered, scowling at the snowy ground. Her expression made Richard chuckle, a small echo of his usual cackle sounding through it.

"I wonder if we'll meet anyone here," Artemis said suddenly, looking up at the blue sky in thought.

Richard grimaced at her words. "I hope not. That would mean that Klarion has sent a lot more than just two people here. That, or they could be hostile natives of this dimension," he said. Artemis nodded slightly.

Suddenly, a loud _whish _and _thunk _noise sounded, and the tree immediately right of the pair had an arrow sticking out of it, the head implanted deeply within the wood.

Both teens scattered, taking up positions behind nearby trees. "I guess you were spot on with the 'hostile' theory!" Artemis hissed to Richard, her eyes narrowed in a glare of frustration. There was little either of them could do if they had no weapons. Well, scratch that; there'd be little _she _could do – Richard would be just fine, considering he was the goddamn Batman's protégé.

Richard nodded to her, his crystal blue eyes sparking with amusement and apprehension as footsteps thundered through the brush toward their location.

"General! Trespassers on the border!" yelled a voice; one that Artemis could see belonging to a soldier of some sort. A second later confirmed her suspicion as a man wearing medieval armor charged into the clearing they'd been passing through. His armor was mainly red, with brown leather adorning it as well. He carried a bow (Artemis grinned at that) and had a quiver full of arrows on his back (that made her grin even wider).

Several similar scouts entered after the first, with a few less accommodated soldiers following them – they carried shields, spears and swords, and they made far more noise while stomping around on the plants; obviously unused to traveling in the forest.

Soon after, a huge black warhorse trotted into the clearing, coming in with its head proudly raised up high regally as if it and its rider were royalty. Its rider was no better; an older looking man, wearing far more extravagant armor than his soldiers, he sat on its back like a king riding among peasants. Artemis decided instantaneously that she did _not _like this guy; not one bit. '_If he's in charge, I'll hunt Klarion down and make him send us home. He reminds me too much of da-….. Sportsmaster,_' Artemis thought quietly, shuddering slightly. It was true; the air of 'I am better than all of you, I could kill you all in a second' that floated around the man reminded Artemis too much of her father, and she couldn't stand it.

"Where have they gone, Hadvar? Any sign of them?" the man asked, looking down at the first scout to have come.

The scout ducked his head respectfully to the man – Artemis was sure he was the _General _the scout had spoken of a minute ago. "No, General Tullius-" '_Knew it.'_ "they seem to have disappeared. What shall we do?"

"There, sir!" exclaimed a scout suddenly, pointing directly at Artemis' hiding place.

'_Shit!_' Artemis exclaimed silently, dodging another arrow that had been aimed at her arm; most likely to pin her in place. She dodged several more, running through the trees at top speed to get away from scouts and that crazy general.

Unfortunately, as Artemis ducked another arrow, her feet smacked into themselves and sent her tumbling to the ground, cursing in Vietnamese at her misfortune. Before she could scramble to her feet, a scout – the one named 'Hadvar' – caught up to her, pointing an arrow right in between her eyes.

"Stay where you are, girl!" he called to her. His voice wasn't threatening; it sounded almost….. pleading? '_He doesn't want to have to shoot me,_' Artemis realized, and she sat up, holding her hands up in surrender reluctantly as more of the scouts and soldiers caught up.

The warhorse trotted in once again, the general scanning her skeptically. From the look he was giving her, Artemis' could feel her dislike for him growing. "And what is a pretty young Imperial lass like you doing on the Cyrodiil/Skyrim border alone, eh?" asked 'General Tullius', his voice rough and disapproving.

Artemis bit her lip, not knowing what to do at the moment. Somehow she was able to find her voice to reply, "And why should I tell you? My business is my own!" After she said it, Artemis smirked inwardly; she sounded like someone out of a medieval movie instead of from the 21st century, and she was glad about that. Talking differently around these people would make them think her either mad or delusional.

"What shall we do, General? Send her back to Cyrodiil?" Hadvar asked, a trace of hope in his voice. '_He wants to let me go?_' Artemis thought in confusion, her eyebrow silently quirking in surprise at his offer.

Tullius sneered at her, his eyes harsh and cruel. "I think not. She would just cross the border later when we have gone. Put her in the wagon with the others; she's going to Helgen with those traitorous Stormcloaks!" he snapped, motioning to several soldiers to grab her.

Considering there were still several arrows pointed at her head, Artemis didn't move a muscle as the men roughly tied her hands in front of her and dragged her to her feet, though she did squeak in protest when one of them shoved her forward. Glaring at him murderously, Artemis walked forward in the direction they indicated with her head held high and proud, unwilling to show her nervousness to these creeps.

"Sir! We found another!" a scout suddenly cried, and a small group of scouts that had apparently split off from the rest of them marched in, pushing Richard ahead of them. Pangs of worry and surprise went through Artemis, her eyes wide with disbelief. But, from the grin he gave her, she understood his wordless message: _Did you think I'd leave you to this alone?_

_ 'He let himself get caught for me,_' Artemis sighed in her head, '_The idiot._'

The pair was marched through the woods for several minutes in silence before they reached a stone path through the forest, where a few more soldiers were waiting on horseback with two horse-drawn wagons filled with apparent prisoners were.

"In you go, lassie!" one of the soldiers laughed, roughly grabbing Artemis and lifting her bodily into the front wagon, tossing Richard up beside her as well. Both young heroes collapsed onto the wagons seats, unable to keep their balance with their hands tied.

"Well this is just great!" Artemis hissed to him, "Why'd you let yourself get caught? I would've been fine!"

Richard smiled quietly at her, then shrugged. "What else was I supposed to do? I don't know my way around here; I could've wandered into more a dangerous situation trying to follow these guys. Besides, would you really want to be in this alone?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

And, for the life of her, Artemis just couldn't argue with him.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

** A/N: Kinda sucky ending, but whatever! I wanted to get this finished quickly so we could get to the real story! OK, I know you all probably want the main quest storyline, but are there any other quests you'd like the pair to do too? Tell me in a review!  
~Persephone**


	4. Chap 3: End of the Line

**A/N: OK, major plot-point I must ask you people about! Should Richard and Artemis be Imperials or Stormcloaks? I, personally, think they'd be on the Imperial side, but they'd oppose the Thalmor as well. Do you people agree, or think of them as Stormcloaks? I don't see them joining Ulfric, but if you guys do, then either send a review or vote in my profile poll; the poll will stay up for two days before I decide, so you people better move fast! If the poll is gone by the time you look, just leave a review!**

** YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

"So, you two were trying to cross the border from Cyrodiil, right?" asked the blonde man that sat across from the pair in the wagon as it bumped along on the rugged stone path through the mountainous wilderness.

"Yes, we were," Richard answered immediately, having no apparent trouble with lying to him. Artemis was impressed; then again, he _was _the Batman's protégé. He'd probably had to lie a hundred times before, and then some.

"Then you ran straight into the Imperial brigade, same as us, and this thief here," said the blonde man, nodding to the man to his immediate left; the 'thief', as the blonde dubbed him, wore brown rags, not the blue and brown soldier uniforms the other men wore.

"Damn you Stormcloaks. Skyrim was fine until you came along. Empire was nice and lazy! If they hadn't been looking for you, I could've stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell," the thief muttered, glaring mutinously at the bottom of the wagon. Slowly, his eyes traveled up to rest on the two teenagers watching him. "You there! You and me – we shouldn't be here! It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants!"

"We're all brothers – and _sisters _– in binds now, thief!" the blonde shot back, seeming to remember Artemis in time to mention her.

"Shut up back there!" the Imperial driving the wagon snapped at them, not even turning to give them a glare, as if they weren't worth his time.

"What's wrong with him, huh?" asked the thief, looking at the last man in the carriage that sat on Richard's right. He wore fancier armor than the other Stormcloaks, and his mouth was gagged tightly to prevent him from uttering a sound.

"Watch your tongue! You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King!" the first blonde snapped at the thief venomously.

Richard and Artemis shared a quick glance; this could be their chance to learn a thing or two about the new world they found themselves in.

The thief seemed puzzled. "Ulfric? The Jarl of Windhelm? You're the leader of the rebellion….. But if they've captured you… oh, gods! Where are they taking us?" the thief exclaimed nervously, his eyes growing wide with panic.

The blonde looked up wistfully, his mouth twisted slightly in a wry smile. "I don't know where we're going, but Sovngarde awaits," he said quietly before redirecting his gaze to the wagon below him.

"N-no, this can't be happening! This isn't happening!" exclaimed the thief, his eyes darting around him as if his inevitable doom lay just beyond his sightline; which, is his reaction was accurate, this assumption was probably true.

"Hey, what village are you from, horse thief?" asked the blonde man.

"Why do you care?" snapped the thief, obviously not in the mood for this.

"A Nord's last thoughts should be of home," said the blonde quietly, his eyes sympathetic.

The thief was silent for a moment, his eyes downcast. "R-Rorikstead. I'm…. I'm from Rorikstead," he said at last.

Suddenly, the sound of a gate opening reached Artemis' ears, and she looked ahead of the cart to find they'd reached a small village, and that the gate to said village was opening to allow the carts in. "General Tullius, sir! The headsman is waiting!" called one of the soldiers on the wall overlooking the gate, and just like that Artemis could feel her stomach to a gigantic flip-flop.

"Good. Let's get this over with!" Tullius said, riding ahead of the wagons to stop and start conversing with whom Artemis could guess was his superiors. They were dressed in richly ornamented black robes with hoods over their heads and gold outlining the black, and they rode on very expensive looking horses. The strangest thing about them was the fact that their skin was _yellow, _their ears were _pointy _and they were definitely _taller _than any normal man Artemis had ever seen.

She was distracted from her observation as the thief began to pray, eyes closed in earnest fear, "Shor, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh; Divines, please help me!"

The blonde Stormcloak ignored the thief's muttering and glared angrily at Tullius. "Look at him; General Tullius, the military governor! And it looks like the Thalmor are with him. Damn elves…. I bet they had something to do with this!" he snarled.

Once again, Richard and Artemis shared a quick glance, both their eyes filled with apprehension. So far, all they could see was that their situation was; not good. At all.

"You can't seriously be telling me that you're really going to do this!" snarled a voice, and Artemis jumped in surprise before slowly turning to see one of the Imperial officers arguing with a man with dark red-brown skin, a girl that appeared to be his daughter close behind him as he shouted angrily at the officer. "You have a couple of teenage prisoners! They deserve a cell in the jail, not the headsman's block!"

"Uncle, please, come away! There's nothing you can do!" the girl hissed, tugging on her uncle's arm and trying to ignore the looks they were getting from prisoners and soldiers alike.

"They were caught on the border, Steel-Wing; Thalmor law says we have to put them down, kids or not!" the officer said, brushing past the man without a backward glance.

The man glared after her venomously, his hands clenched into fists, and Artemis paled slightly at the thought – no, _realization _– that they had been arguing about her and Richard. '_Oh, shit!_' she thought, eyes widening in horror.

The man's niece, who looked approximately Artemis' age, dared a glance up at the wagon as it passed by her and her uncle. When she caught Artemis' eyes, she flinched and finally pulled her uncle away, babbling about how 'getting involved never solved anything'.

"… This is Helgen. I used to be sweet on a girl from here. I wonder if Vilod is still making that mead with juniper berries mixed in….. Funny, when I was a boy, Imperial walls and towers used to make me feel so safe," the blonde Stormcloak said wistfully, though it sounded more like he was trying his best to divert Artemis and Richard's attention away from the subject that was just being discussed a few moments ago. It was a poor effort, but Artemis sent him a grateful smile regardless.

The wagons stopped in front of a stone tower, and in front of it was the headsman's block. Artemis breathed deeply through her nose, her fists clenching in her lap. "Get these prisoners out of the carts! Move it!" yelled an Imperial officer, and Artemis realized it was the same one the man had been arguing with and her, stomach dropped to her toes and she had a hard time not puking.

"W-why are we stopping?" asked the thief, his eyes wide.

The blonde just gave him a look, but before he could say something, Richard suddenly spoke up, "Why do you think? End of the line."

Artemis shot him a wide, fearful look, but he just smiled at her reassuringly.

The blonde man twisted his mouth slightly, his eyes sad yet determined. "Let's go; shouldn't keep the gods waiting for us."

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

** A/N: BOOM! Cliffhanger! LOL, sorry. True Skyrim fans know it's not much of a cliffie, since you already know what's gonna happen, but a girl's gotta try right? Anyway, remember to vote on which side the duo should join!  
~Persephone**


	5. Chap 4: Fearless in Death

** A/N: Alright, the poll for which side the duo should join is still up, but I couldn't wait and decided to post another chapter regardless of me not choosing! The poll will be over either later today or tomorrow so you should all move your butts to vote NOW! BTW, why is, like, nobody reviewing? I've only got like four reviews when usually when I have an awesome story I have at least ten by this point. I feel sad now…. :(**

** P.S. YAY! This is the first chapter with Richard's POV!**

** YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

"No, wait! We're not rebels! You've got to tell them; we weren't with you!" cried the thief, cowering to the back of the group that came out of their cart.

Richard couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in disbelief at the older man. '_Here we are, about to meet our doom, and a couple of teenagers are being more courageous than you. Wow. Just…. Wow,_' he thought with a mental sigh.

"Face your death with some courage, thief!" snapped the older blonde man just ahead of Richard, who had slipped in front of Artemis in the line to try and offer her a little protection from the villagers gathering around the area, staring at the prisoners with either apprehension or triumph. That man from earlier was there, glaring at the Imperials and daring a glance over at the two teens in the line-up every few moments, his niece beside him and looking uncomfortable with the whole situation.

"This is a mistake!" the thief said, ignoring the blonde man as his eyes widened with fright.

"Step towards the block when we call your name; one at a time!" yelled the Imperial officer, decked out in shining armor that looked far more expensive than any other soldiers' uniform; the only uniform that could surpass it was the general's.

"Empire loves their damn lists," the blonde man muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm," called the man next to the officer, and Richard realized it was the man 'Hadvar', the one who had wanted to let Artemis go back across the border. He looked uncomfortable reading off the names of men who were about to die, but then again, who would be okay with that?

"It has been an honor, Jarl Ulfric!" the blonde said, bowing his head as the gagged man stepped out of the line and walked past them toward the new line in front of the headsman's block.

"Ralof of Riverwood," Hadvar said next, and the blonde stepped out of line.

"Lokir of Rorikstead," Hadvar read, and the thief flinched from behind Richard and Artemis.

"NO! I'm not a rebel! You can't do this!" he cried, and suddenly, he bolted, running up the stone path through the village toward the main gate.

"HALT!" yelled the Imperial officer, her voice harsh.

"You're not going to kill me!" Lokir cried.

"ARCHERS!" the officer yelled, and suddenly Lokir was riddled with arrows as at least three archers fired at him at once.

There were gasps from the watching villagers, and Richard felt like a cold stone had dropped into his stomach and was starting to spread its icy fingers into the rest of his body. Despite this, he didn't allow a single shred of emotion come onto his face; he kept it cold and emotionless, just like Batman had taught him.

"Wait….. you two, step forward!" called Hadvar, and Richard slowly did as he asked. He felt Artemis step up beside him, though still a little behind him. She had fisted a handful of his clothing into her hand, her grip tight. Silently, Richard quickly cast her a reassuring glance over his shoulder, and she replied with a small smile, though her chocolate brown eyes were still full of apprehension.

"Who are you?" asked Hadvar, his eyes questioning, but not harsh and cold like the officers were.

Richard twisted his mouth in contemplation; would his name be considered odd here, in a world full of more fantasy-realm names? Then again, if he was really going to die here, who cared?

"Richard Grayson," he said strongly. "Of Cyrodiil," he added as an afterthought, just barely saying it in time so as not to sound suspicious.

Hadvar didn't comment on his name, merely writing it on his list of names.

"Artemis Crock of Cyrodiil," Artemis said quietly, her hold on his shirt tightening slightly.

"You're both a long way from the Imperial City; what are you doing in Skyrim?" asked Hadvar, raising an eyebrow at the pair. Before either of them could think of a good lie, Hadvar turned to the officer beside him. "Captain, what shall we do? They're not on the list," he said.

The Imperial Captain glared at the young teens disdainfully, her eyes hard. "Forget the list; Thalmor law says they go to the block," she said simply.

"By your orders, Captain," Hadvar said, nodding to her then turning a sympathetic look to the frozen pair in front of him. "I'm sorry. We'll make sure your remains are returned to Cyrodiil," he said, as if that could make the situation even the slightest bit better.

"Follow the captain, prisoners," Hadvar ordered, and the Captain stalked away towards the block.

Richard followed her, feeling Artemis press to his side silently. Richard couldn't help but feel a little weird; Artemis was _never _scared, _ever, _so seeing her look timidly around them was pretty strange; but, then again, they were about to get their heads chopped off, so, he guessed he couldn't blame her. Hell, he didn't even know how he was this calm right now; it was like all the worry and panic had drained out of him. It was weird, but at least he wasn't having a total breakdown.

By the time they reached the block, Tullius was making some sort of speech to Ulfric.

"Ulfric Stormcloak. Some here in Helgen call you a hero….. but a hero doesn't use a power like the Voice to murder his King and usurp his throne! You started this war; plunged Skyrim into chaos! And now the Empire is going to put you down, and restore the peace!" Tullius exclaimed, ignoring the death glares he was getting from the surrounding Stormcloaks and Ulfric himself.

Suddenly, a loud roar echoed throughout the area, making everyone crane their heads upward to look at the sky in bewilderment. Richard couldn't help but do the same; that noise was bizarre!

"What was that?" asked Hadvar.

"It's nothing; carry on," ordered Tullius.

"Yes, General Tullius!" said the Captain, saluting him before turning to a woman in yellow robes that covered her head to foot, only leaving her face uncovered. "Give them their last rites," she said.

"As we commend your souls to Aetherius, blessings of the Eight Divines upon you-" the woman began to pray, but a Stormcloak prisoner abruptly interrupted her.

"For the love of Talos, _shut up, _and let's get this over with!" he snarled, stalking up to the block fearlessly.

"As you wish," the woman – a priestess by the look of things – said, looking disgruntled at his interruption as she stepped back.

The Captain came forward, shoving the man down onto the block as the headsman came forward, giant axe in hand. "My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials; can you say the same? !" the Stormcloak exclaimed just before the axe came down with a sickening _shlock!_

Richard couldn't help a wince, and Artemis gasped, burrowing her face into his shoulder to escape the sight.

"You Imperial bastards!" screamed a female Stormcloak, her eyes wide with fury for her fallen comrade's demise.

"Justice!" yelled a male spectator.

"Death to the Stormcloaks!" cried a woman near him.

Ralof looked at his fallen brother mournfully, his face downcast. "As fearless in death as he was in life," he said quietly, hanging his head.

The Captain shoved the body over with her foot; carelessly letting it hit the ground and start staining everything with blood.

"Next, the brat from Cyrodiil!" she called, and Richard immediately stiffened; there was _no way in Hell _Artemis was going first. It was a little selfish, but Richard wouldn't be able to handle watching another friend die in front of him. So, when she called, he stepped forward first.

Immediately, Artemis cried out in protest, trying to yank him back behind her so she could go first, but Richard wouldn't have it; he twisted out of her grip, pleading to her with his eyes to remain calm. Seeing his look, Artemis clamped her mouth shut on another protest, her brown eyes filling with tears that she stubbornly blinked away. Quietly, so nobody but he could hear her, she whispered, "I'm right behind you in this."

To be honest, this wasn't the most reassuring thing; Richard would really prefer Artemis getting out of this alive, but, if they both had to go down, at least they went down together. Smiling slightly at her, Richard winked before turning back to the block.

Suddenly, another roar echoed throughout the village, once again gaining everyone's attention. "There it is again; did you hear that?" asked Hadvar, looking up at the sky.

"I said, next prisoner!" snapped the Captain.

Hadvar returned his attention to what was happening around him. "To the block prisoner, nice and easy," he said.

Richard could hear the gathered crowd murmuring to each other skeptically as he walked forward. "They're really going to execute a kid?" one person asked.

"That's pretty harsh," another hissed.

Richard tried not to grimace as he was shoved onto the block, the blood from the previous victim still warm and sticky on his skin as he landed on a puddle of it, making him wince involuntarily.

He could hear Artemis barely muffling whimpers behind him, terror evident in her suppressed voice.

Clenching his fists, Richard glared up at the headsman as he began lifting his axe, eyes cold and merciless…

… But, visible just over the headsman's shoulder was something even _more _terrifying than the axe that was about to slice his head off. Richard's eyes widened, and his mouth gaped open in silent horror as a huge beast flew into view, it's night-black wings beating the air as it roared once again, for the third time.

_A dragon._

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

**A/N: OMG CLIFFHANGER! I am so evil, LOL. REMEMBER TO VOTE ON WHICH SIDE THE DUO CHOOSES!  
~Persephone**


	6. Chap 5: Through the Ruins

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

**Richard's POV**

"What in Oblivion is that? !" cried Tullius as the huge creature landed with a resounding _thud _on the tower just about ten feet from the headsman's block, the earth shaking because of it and causing the headsman to stumble and fall, leaving Richard's neck perfectly intact.

"Sentries! What do you see?" demanded the Imperial Captain, her tone frantic.

"DRAGON!" screamed an archer, and Richard could hear the sound of several weapons being drawn and bowstrings being pulled taut.

Despite this, Richard didn't dare move or draw attention to himself, his attention focused solely on the huge beast above him. It roared again, and the sky darkened and flaming meteors began to fall from the clouds like something out of an old cliché apocalypse movie.

"Don't just stand there! Kill the damn thing!" screamed the Captain, and the next moment was filled with sounds of mass panic from the crowd as the civilians most likely scattered; Richard couldn't tell what was happening at this point from his position.

"Guards, get the townspeople to safety!" yelled Tullius, but his command was lost as the dragon roared again, causing a huge shock wave and sending Richard to the ground, his head reeling and his sight went blurry for a few seconds.

Blinking madly, he could hear muffled crashes and explosions, before the world suddenly snapped back into place when he felt a pair of hands tugging at the back of his shirt, hauling him to his feet.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

**Artemis' POV**

"Come on, get up! We need to move!" cried Artemis, yanking Richard up as fast as she could. Nearly all of the townspeople and guards had disappeared, taking off down the town streets, trying to find either refuge from the beast or back up to help take it down.

"Hey, girl! Get him up and over here!" yelled Ralof, who was crouched nearby with the young girl – the one Artemis had noticed earlier with her uncle – that he had shielded from the rapidly falling debris coming from the sky. "Come on! The gods won't give us another chance!"

Artemis nodded to him and, after wasting a few precious moments getting Richard to his feet, started running beside him to the stone tower across from the headsman's block. Once she was inside, Ralof slammed it shut, leaning against it heavily as the sounds of falling meteors reached them even inside the rock walls.

Richard slumped against a wall, breathing in and out slowly to recollect his calm exterior. "You alright?" Artemis asked him, her eyes threatening to fill with tears of joy; she had been _this _close to not seeing him again. It made her sick just thinking about it.

Richard looked over at her, and he let his mouth quirk into a shaky smile. "I just nearly got my head chopped off and then I freaking _dragon _nearly roasted me and you're asking if I'm alright?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her playfully. Artemis scowled at him slightly but said nothing, knowing exactly why he was being sarcastic; when you're trying to hide your feelings, sometimes you ended up sounding sarcastic.

Suddenly, Artemis noticed the other teenage occupant of the room. The girl that Ralof had dragged inside with him was collapsed on the ground, gasping shakily. Artemis turned from her friend to the girl, putting her hand on her shoulder and sliding down next to her on the ground. "Hey. You okay?" the blonde archer asked, making sure to keep the girl from slumping over onto the ground.

The girl passed a hand over her face, stubbornly scrubbing several tears off of her cheeks and nodding fiercely at her. "Fine," she said.

Artemis nodded. "What's your name?" asked Artemis, hoping to keep the girl calm by keeping her mind on other things than the fact that the freaking world was ending.

The girl gave her a bewildered look. "Uh… Iolandi Steel-Wing, why?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow at her.

Artemis grinned slightly. "Good. I'm Artemis. Considering the situation, we shouldn't be working with complete strangers, right?" she asked.

Iolandi smiled slightly and nodded, and Artemis carefully helped her to her feet.

Meanwhile, Ralof had turned to Ulfric, who had also escaped during the chaos. "Jarl Ulfric, what is that thing? Could the legends be true?" he asked.

"Legends don't burn down villages," Ulfric said darkly.

Turning around, Ralof took in the sight of the three frazzled teenagers before him. "We need to move; NOW! Up through the tower, let's go!" he ordered, pointing to the steps upwards.

The trio didn't complain; Richard went up first, his composure restored fully, with the Artemis and Iolandi just behind him with Ralof bringing up the rear.

However, halfway to the tower roof, the wall next to the stairs suddenly exploded, revealing the dragon outside that glared into the building murderously. Iolandi screamed, and Richard pulled her and Artemis away from the gaping hole just as the dragon roared, sending a column of flame blazing into the small space. Once it was satisfied torching the area, the dragon lifted off, flying away from the tower to wreak destruction on the rest of the town.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

**Richard's POV**

As soon as the coast was clear, Richard unglued himself from the wall, allowing Artemis to get out of the death grip he'd accidently trapped her in when the dragon burst through the wall. The Iolandi girl was huddled near Ralof, while Richard had stuck himself and the blonde archer to the wall to avoid the dragon's flames.

"Sorry," he muttered, casting a quick glance at the archer, but she didn't seem to mind; she just sent him a grateful grin that, for some reason, made his legs a little weak. '_Oh, come on! The last thing I need at the moment is teenage hormones!_' Richard yelled in his head, but he was distracted from his inner rant when Ralof came to the edge of the hole, looking down at a building across from the tower.

"See the inn on the other side? Jump through the roof and keep going! We'll follow when we can," he said, nodding to the collapsed roof of the inn.

Richard shot the Stormcloak soldier a glance before doing just as he suggested. The landing was a bit of a jar, but he was able to keep on his feet; the girls, not so much. Artemis tumbled over when she landed, not prepared for the rough impact. Iolandi nearly skidded on the floor when she hit it, but she stopped herself from doing so before she could end up with a wood-burn.

Pulling both girls to their feet, Richard led the way through the bedroom to a hole in the floor, which they all clambered through to the ground and out the inn's entryway, which was beginning to collapse from the fire that burned it.

Outside, Hadvar – he seemed to pop up a lot, didn't he? – was just yanking a small boy beside him to hide behind a burning house as a jet of flame scorched the ground where the boy had been, the dragon roaring overhead as it swooped by.

A civilian man peeked out from behind more wreckage as the dragon disappeared, off to torture the other side of the town. "Gunnar, take care of the boy! I have to find General Tullius and join the defense!" Hadvar said, handing the kid over to the man.

"Gods guide you, Hadvar!" Gunnar said, keeping a firm hand on the boy.

Hadvar began heading away from the wreckage when he spotted the trio just leaving the burning inn. "Still alive, prisoners? Stay close to me if you plan to stay that way!" he ordered, continuing his journey through the streets.

Richard and his two companions quickly followed him, unwilling to question his actions. They slipped into a back alleyway, the shadows doing little to hide them. "Stay close to the wall!" Hadvar ordered.

Out of nowhere, with a loud _thud, _a huge clawed wingtip buried itself into the stone wall right next to Richard's head, making him duck down swiftly. Artemis and Iolandi dropped down beside him as well.

"_Yol Toor Shul!_" the dragon roared, sending out another jet of flame, and Richard's eyes widened at the realization that he could actually discern the words from the loud roaring that usually issued from the beast's mouth.

After satisfying itself, the dragon took off again. Hadvar got to his feet, and the teens followed suit. "Quickly, follow me!" Hadvar said, running up some stairs to a half-standing building, and he ducked through the ruins, reaching the main town square by using the shortcut. The three teens followed as fast as they could.

Out here, it was mass chaos. Injured or dying civilians and soldiers littered the ground as archers shot frantically at the sky, aiming at the dragon but apparently having no luck against its tough hide. Some soldiers were firing off magic spells that Richard recognized as some of the spells Klarion used, but before he could worry about this, Hadvar started running toward another section of the town.

"It's just us now! We need to get ourselves and any other men we see out while we can!" Hadvar cried, heading toward a huge stone building. The teens followed him quickly.

They soon reached the heavy wooden oak doors, and Hadvar forced them open as fast as he could. "Come on! I'll take your bindings off once we're inside!" he cried.

All three teenagers shot through the doors before Hadvar slipped in behind them, slamming the doors shut with a loud _bang!_

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

**A/N: Awesomeness! Do you guys like how I changed the break-lines? I couldn't think of anything else so you'll just have to live with it! Anyway, no worries! Ralof makes it out, but we won't be seeing him for a while; a _long _while, actually. Heheheh… Sorry, my evil laugh needs work.**

**Anyway, yeah. They're going to be Imperials, but they'll be against the Thalmor. Thalmor haters FTW! LOL, I am so weird…. Uh, bye!  
~Persephone**


	7. Chap 6: Escaping Helgen 1

**Artemis' POV**

The inside of the Imperial fort was dark and dank, but it sure as hell was better than being outside right then. Artemis sighed as she slumped rather unceremoniously into a chair as soon as the door shut. Richard remained standing, but the girl Iolandi simply fell to her knees on the ground, breathing in gasps of air like there was no tomorrow.

"It looks like we're the only ones who made it," said Hadvar, looking around the small guard's barracks they'd found themselves in.

Iolandi looked up from where she was on the floor, her eyes wide and face pale. "W-was that really a dragon? The bringers of the end times?" she asked, voice soft.

Richard and Artemis exchanged a worried glance as Hadvar shook his head uncertainly. "I don't see what else it could've been; it matched all of the descriptions from the old legends," he said, before slowly turning to the pair that both still had their hands tied together. "We should keep moving; find a way out of Helgen through here. Come here, I'll get those bindings off you, then you look around for some armor and supplies while I look for a way out, alright?" he asked.

Artemis had no problem with that plan, and neither did Richard. After quickly cutting the ropes off of their wrists, Hadvar disappeared to the far side of the room to look at the door leading to the rest of the Keep while the duo split up, searching the room.

After several moments, Artemis opened a chest and found several sets of complete armor, complete with boots and helmets. Bypassing the helmets, she hauled the rest of the stuff out carefully. Iolandi wandered over to her as she pulled out the last of the armor.

"Won't these be a little big on us?" she asked, picking up a leather gauntlet that was a little big compared to her thin wrists.

Artemis shrugged. "You wanna try and walk out of here without armor on, be my guest," she said simply before taking a set of armor behind a changing screen. After about fifteen minutes of struggling with the belts and various straps that covered the armor, Artemis came out, her feet feeling a little clunky in the boots she'd stuffed them in.

Iolandi didn't comment on her attire, simply disappearing behind the screen with her own set of armor as well.

Artemis wandered over to the other side of the room, where Richard had discovered an entire chest full of weaponry. Swords, maces, axes, daggers, shields, and war-hammers littered the table he'd set them all on.

"Pick your favorite," Richard said in a chipper voice, already setting a set of throwing knives, a small dagger, and a short sword aside for after he got changed into armor too.

Artemis scowled at the line-up in frustration. "No bow and arrows?" she asked, eyes narrowed in anger.

Richard shrugged. "Sorry, nope," he said simply, walking over to the pile of armor Artemis had left on the floor. Iolandi at last reappeared from behind the screen, surprisingly wearing her armor correctly without a single buckle out of place, even if the stuff was a little big for her. The girl slid over beside Artemis to join her in perusing the line-up of weapons.

"So, has this ever happened to you before?" asked Iolandi, looking at the blonde curiously.

Artemis raised an eyebrow at the green-eyed brunette beside her. "Has what ever happened to me before?" she asked.

Iolandi shrugged. "Escaping from a dungeon of some sort. You and your friend seem to be like those adventurers that come through the village sometimes, the ones who've been all across Tamriel and back again. You both just…. seem to know a lot about the world, or at least about the dangers it's filled with," she said, chewing her lip a little.

Artemis stared at the brunette carefully before picking up a dagger from the collection of weapons and sliding it onto her belt before picking up a small war-axe as well, hooking it onto her hip. "We just have experience with weird occurrences, you know? We don't know everything, but we can keep our calm in bad situations, that's it," she said carefully.

Iolandi looked her over carefully before shrugging and picking up her own dagger, sliding it into her right boot before picking up, to Artemis' shock, a hefty iron mace that she held in one hand, swinging it lightly back and forth to test the weight before putting it on her right hip carefully. "What?" she asked at Artemis wide-eyed look.

"Sorry, I just… didn't think you knew anything about weapons," she said, careful not to tread on any bad subjects. But Iolandi just grinned at her slyly.

"My brother Torynn is a blacksmith. He let me test some of his one-handed weapons out before so I wouldn't be completely useless during a fight, you know?" she said.

"As much as I hate breaking up bonding moments," said a voice, and suddenly Richard appeared next to them, making Artemis jump and Iolandi squeal in shock, "We should really get moving." With that, Richard strapped on his set of knives, his dagger, and the short sword, before all three of them turned to Hadvar, who had finished what he was doing and had opened the door to the rest of the Keep.

"You ready?" he asked them, his eyes scanning their attire and weapon choices quickly.

"Yes sir!" Iolandi said immediately.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Artemis said with a shrug.

Richard raised an eyebrow at his blonde companion before nodding at Hadvar. "I'm ready too," he said.

Hadvar nodded to them, before leading the way down the dark hallway, hand on his sword hilt as a precaution as his three young companions followed him through the dark.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

**A/N: Yay! We're escaping Helgen! Whoohoo! Anyway, so yeah. Don't worry; Iolandi is there for a reason. She won't steal the spotlight from the duo, nor will she be a complete waste of space. She'll be useful, just wait and see!  
~Persephone**


	8. Chap 7: Escaping Helgen 2

**Richard's POV**

Hadvar ran ahead through the dimly lit stone hallways of the Keep, torches mounted on the walls barely making enough light for everything to remain visible. Not that Richard cared; as Robin, he did his best work in the dark.

They turned down another hallway with a tall metal gate blocking entry. Voices came from the other side, saying some things in hushed tones that Richard couldn't make out. "Stormcloaks! Stay down!" Hadvar hissed, dropping into a crouch.

Richard followed suit, and Artemis yanked Iolandi down beside her too. Hadvar crept forward to the gates opening chain, making a 'shh' sign with one finger in front of his mouth. Richard nodded, drawing the short sword from his hip with a muted '_shhing!_'

He heard a soft '_shk!_' behind him and knew Artemis had taken out her war-axe. He could also tell from a muffled '_thump!' _that Iolandi had taken out her mace and accidentally bumped it against the wall. She cursed quietly in a language neither Richard nor Artemis could understand before hissing, "Sorry!"

Richard rolled his eyes, trying not to be annoyed with the girl – she'd probably never done anything like this in her whole life, so he had to admit she was doing a pretty good job for her first time. Then again, he would accept anything she did as long as she didn't end up being the 'damsel in distress' that usually found its way into a fantasy tale; and considering there a was freaking _dragon _outside, this was turning out to be quite the 'World of Warcraft' experience.

Hadvar pulled the chain, and the gate slid open, stopping the conversation on the other side. "What was that?" asked one of the voices, a woman's. Suddenly, two Stormcloaks came around the corner, a woman with a war-axe and a man with a gigantic war-hammer.

"Death to the Empire!" roared the man, rushing forward and swinging his war-hammer crazily above him. Hadvar jumped in front of him, kicking him in the gut, backing him away from the three teens.

The woman let the two men clash, turning her attention to the trio with eyes of flint. "Victory or Sovngarde!" she challenged them, running forward with her axe raised for the killing stroke.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S  
Artemis' POV**

The woman charged, but Richard shot forward, intercepting her before she could reach them. He met her, blow for blow, axe versus sword. Artemis quickly joined him, aiming to deflect the woman's attacks and find a way to disarm her.

The opportunity came when Artemis and the woman came to a stand-still, neither able to push the other back. Before they could pull back and attack each other again, Richard slid in and sliced the woman's hand, leaving a gouge deep enough to make her drop her weapon. She did, with a cry of protest and a growled curse. Richard wasted no time, not allowing her any time to drop to the ground and snatch her axe up again; he slid his blade right under her chin, the tip resting at her throat so quickly it made Artemis flinch.

"Yield!" Richard ordered, not even breathing heavily while the woman they'd been fighting was panting quickly, her eyes wide; but not with fear. Her eyes glowered with rage and indignation.

"You dare think I would yield to _you, _Imperial brat? ! A Nord does not yield until their dying day!" she snarled, holding her chin high in defiance. Artemis opened her mouth, a retort ready on the tip of her tongue, when a blade suddenly went through the woman's back. Artemis gasped and Richard jerked his hand backward, sending his sword away from her throat almost like it was _he _that stabbed her.

The woman gasped, a hand reaching up and grabbing at the blade impaling her through the back, before it was roughly yanked out and she fell to the ground, the life draining from her within seconds.

Artemis blinked in shock when she realized it was Hadvar, quickly wiping his blade off on a cloth before shoving it back in his belt. "What the hell was that? !" yelled Richard, surging forward and standing toe-to-toe with the man, "She was beaten! You didn't have to kill her!"

Hadvar raised an eyebrow at him, looking at him oddly. "Well, I don't know how it was in Cyrodiil, kid, but in Skyrim, Nord's don't stand down. If I hadn't killed her, she simply would've kept fighting, and then where would we be?" he asked, giving the thirteen-year-old a 'duh!' look.

Richard gritted his teeth and turned away as the man walked across the room to the other door. Iolandi poked her head out of the hall she'd been hiding in, her eyes wide. "What's the matter?" she asked.

Artemis looked at her in shock before gesturing to the soldier's bodies, the man bleeding out from a wound in the neck. "Hadvar just _killed _them!" she said.

Iolandi tilted her head, giving the blonde an uncomprehending look. "So?" she asked.

Artemis gaped at the brunette like a fish. "So? ! _So? !_ He just took another human's life away and you say _so? !_" she gasped.

Iolandi now looked doubly confused. "Well, they were the enemy, right? Who cares if they die? They would've killed us if we hadn't killed them, right?" she asked, completely unconcerned with the two dead bodies not five feet from her.

Artemis blinked, then bit her lip and turned away from the brunette's blank look. _That _was the kind of logic her da-… _Sportsmaster _and _Cheshire _used all the time; if they're on the other side shoot first and ask questions later. Artemis refused to believe in that statement, no matter what anyone said to her about it.

"Alright, this way!" called Hadvar, from where he had just unlocked and opened the next door.

Artemis slowly headed towards him, her hands clenched around her war-axe. If the Stormcloak soldiers really wouldn't stop fighting even after they were beaten, how were thy expected to continue through the Keep? '_Simple,_' said a voice deep in her head, '_Just kill them first._'

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

**A/N: OK, I know that whole Artemis thing was completely contradictory, but our duo will both be hesitant to kill at first, considering who they were trained by, but they'll get used to it eventually. Oh, and I'm still debating who the Dragonborn will be; the poll is still on my profile, and it'll stay there until I decide, so make sure to vote! P.S. I know I'm not very good with fight scenes, but just bear with me!  
~Persephone**


	9. Chap 8: Escaping Helgen 3

**A/N: Hey! It's been awhile, hasn't it? Ehehe, sorry about the wait for this, but school just restarted, and before that I was having MAJOR writer's block and couldn't do ANYTHING, but luckily I rediscovered my enthusiasm for this story because of my new co-author/friend on this site, ****_RideroftheNosse_****, who was very kind as to help me come up with a few ideas for the story's future. Ok, ENOUGH OF MY RAMBLING! On with the show!**

**Artemis' POV**

Leaving the room with the two Stormcloak bodies behind, the quartet entered a large staircase, Hadvar leading the way down with his sword drawn. "If more Stormcloaks are inside the Keep, I can't have any of you getting hurt and slowing us down," he hissed to them matter-of-factly, to which all three teenagers gave him a rather poisonous look that he simply shrugged off.

Artemis could still feel her blood boiling at the fact that there were two dead people behind them, but she bit her lip to keep her thoughts to herself; Hadvar was a soldier, after all. He'd probably killed many times before, so it was expected of him to act so…. Indifferent. But Iolandi was another story; the girl had simply cast a glance at the bleeding corpses and shrugged like it was nothing. Just where exactly had they ended up? What kind of world would allow a normal teenage girl to see death and let her see at as no problem? It was unreal in Artemis' opinion, and she could tell from Richard's stiff movements and wary glances at their companion to see he thought the same thing she did.

Artemis could no longer ponder their position as they moved down the stone steps carefully, quietly, the padding of their feet on the ground almost completely silent, especially in Richard's case. Hadvar led the way down to an open doorway, which he slid through cautiously before sliding through another almost as soon as he entered the small room that simply connected the stairway to the main hallway, the three teens following with hands on their weapons.

The main hall was a little thinner than the stairway, but Artemis could make out several figures farther down from them; figures wearing Imperial uniforms. However, before Hadvar could even call a greeting to them, a loud roar echoed from above, and huge boulders showered down from the ceiling and created a rock wall between them and the soldiers, some shouts coming from the men as they scrambled away. All four in the group stumbled at the impact of the rocks, though Richard regained his balance first and stalked forward to the wall blocking them, blue eyes murderous. "Damn!" he snarled, kicking one boulder stubbornly.

"That dragon isn't giving up easily," murmured Iolandi from beside Artemis, her golden-brown eyes smoldering with frustration and nervousness.

"No matter; we need to get out of this place or we'll all end up its food!" Hadvar said determinedly, before moving toward a door that led off of the hall. He opened it, and they all slid inside the room. Immediately they all froze as voices drifted towards them from somewhere out of their sightline.

"Grab everything important and let's move! That damn dragon's burning everything to the ground!" snarled one voice, rough and harsh.

"I just need to check these barrels; who knows how long until we reach friendly territory once we're out of here? We may not be able to buy any potions or supplies for weeks!" exclaimed another voice, quieter, calmer, and yet still urgent.

The teens drew their weapons as Hadvar slunk forward into the kitchen/storage room, his sword raised and shining in the eerie firelight from a fireplace nearby.

Two male Stormcloaks were standing over several storage barrels, rummaging around inside them for whatever they could get. They didn't see Hadvar or Richard sneaking up behind them until Hadvar slid his sword into one of their backs'.

The second Stormcloak sprang backwards as his companion slid to the floor in a bloody heap, his eyes wide with shock and his mouth agape. "Death to the Empire!" he shouted angrily, snatching his sword from his belt and lunging at Hadvar like a madman.

The duel didn't even last a minute; Hadvar parried the blow and feinted left to distract the frantic man before slicing from the right and stabbing him in the heart quickly, letting the body slide off his blade before sheathing it once again. Neither Artemis nor Richard commented on it this time, but Artemis saw Richard shoot the older man a rather dirty look as he looked around the area.

"This is one of the older store rooms, but there should be some things around here we can grab. See if you can find any potions or supplies around," he suggested, turning and rooting around in a nearby desk.

Richard and Artemis shared a look, unsure of what to do; potions? They could find supplies, but they didn't know what to do if they found any potion bottles. How would they tell if it was a potion or some type of poison?

Luckily, Iolandi seemed to know what she was doing as she slipped around them and stuck a hand inside a barrel, digging down almost to the bottom before pulling out a small pink-red bottle. Her eyes lit up as she inspected it, popping off the cap for a moment and taking a whiff of the liquid inside. "A healing potion! And it's still fresh!" she cried out joyfully before sticking the potion in the small pouch on her belt.

The two dimension-travelers exchanged another glance before slowly splitting up, Artemis joining the redhead while Richard began to search the nearby cupboards and shelves.

"So, um, what do potions usually look like?" Artemis hissed to the other girl, who stopped looking in the barrels to give her a curious look, one red-brown eyebrow quirking in confusion.

"Haven't you ever seen one before?" Iolandi asked, blowing a strand of hair out of her face as she said so.

Artemis shook her head. "Besides the one you just took out, no. Richard and I come from a pretty remote village, one that didn't really have much to do with magic or anything, so we used traditional healing methods instead of potions or magic," she said, almost cringing when she realized there was a possibility that there was no such thing as healing magic in this world.

However, the other girl just smiled in understanding at her. "That must've been awful! Healing the old-fashioned way would take weeks, or months even! Well, anyway, potions usually look like this-" she took the small bottle out of her pouch again, holding it up for Artemis to see "- except they're sometimes bigger or have different colors. Some potions are in wine bottles or similar cups or tankards, but for the most part they're in these types of bottles, understand? Just look for these, and I'll smell them a little to make sure they're still fresh and usable."

Artemis smiled gratefully at her – was she a friend? She certainly was friendly like M'gann – and returned to helping her dig in the barrels, aware that Richard had heard every word they'd said and that he was now inspecting the shelves at a faster pace than before.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

After about ten minutes of frantic searching, the quartet had amassed a collection of twenty potions; however, out of all of them, only nine were fresh and usable, which seriously irked Artemis, though she said nothing to convey her frustration. In the end, Iolandi ended up carrying them, since she had been the only one to stay out of most the fighting thus far and was least likely to break the bottles.

"You all ready? Let's go," Hadvar said, quickly leading the way to the door out of the room into the next hallway beyond the store room.

The floor sloped gently, leading them underground a short ways, the torches hanging on the walls becomingly slightly scarcer the farther they went, thought Artemis didn't say a word, simply huffing quietly and sliding closer to her two teenage companions. Richard gave her a strained grin, and Iolandi quickly clasped a hand on the blonde's wrist, more to relieve herself than anything else, but Artemis was grateful for both gestures regardless.

Suddenly, shouts began to echo from farther below, frenzied and angry, and the group tensed even more than they already were. "The torture room; gods, I wish we didn't need this," murmured Hadvar, drawing his sword once again.

They all burst into the gruesome room just as the four attacking Stormcloaks beat the two Imperials back a little, though one of them was holding his own quite well while shooting lightning spells at them. Richard and Hadvar quickly jumped in, forcing the four enemies back from the Imperial soldiers.

One of the Stormcloaks, a woman, was forced back out of the fight, and she stumbled right in front of the two Imperial girls. The woman looked disgusted at the thought of two teenage girls joining the Imperials, but she shook it off and lunged towards them with sword held high. Artemis met her in the middle, fighting back stroke for stroke, not allowing her to force her back. They circled around a few times, the Stormcloak hitting and Artemis hitting back, until suddenly, with a loud _thwack, _the woman slumped to the ground, her head bleeding heavily and a bit of her skull visible. Artemis looked up in shock as Iolandi shifted slightly, dropping her mace arm down to her side and backing up from the body of the enemy soldier she'd just killed.

"What?" the redhead asked at Artemis' gaping look, her eyes shifting uncomfortably as she moved from foot to foot.

Artemis' jaw snapped shut and she turned away as the last Stormcloak fell from a large shock of lightning from one of the Imperials, who was wearing a black hood, and Artemis felt a sick feeling in her stomach as she realized he was probably the torturer.

"You kids happened along just in time; these barbarians seemed a tad upset about the way I've been entertaining their comrades," the torturer said, an amused tone in his voice that gave Artemis the strong urge to punch him in the face as she noticed the cages lining the far wall filled with dead and decaying bodies of who most likely had been Stormcloak soldiers that had been captured weeks ago.

"Don't you even know what's going on?! A dragon is attacking Helgen!" Hadvar exclaimed, looking at the pair with urgency shining in his eyes. The three teens backed away, unwilling to get caught in this conversation.

"A dragon? Please! Don't make up nonsense!" the torturer exclaimed, waving a hand at the younger soldier as if to dismiss his tale.

As the pair began to argue about whether or not a dragon was actually attacking the Keep, Iolandi silently came forward to begin inspecting a table near where the two were. It had a knapsack on it, along with a book and a dagger. She bypassed the dagger since she already had one, picking up the book and looking at it before opening the sack and rummaging inside it. Her two fellow teens slowly followed her as she dug out a few things; some lock-picks, and a pair of potions that she quickly deemed fresh. After this, Iolandi picked up the book and stuffed it inside the knapsack, along with the dagger – "You never know when you'll need an extra" – and stuffing all of their current supplies inside it before quickly hefting the sack onto her shoulders, hooking the straps on her arms easily. She shrugged at their curious looks and turned back to the arguing duo, Artemis and Richard doing the same.

"-although come to think of it, I did hear some odd noises coming from down there," said the torturer, gesturing to a small dark hallway of cells leading further into the bowels of the Keep, most likely the back of the torture room where they kept the other prisoners.

"Never mind that! We need to get out of here!" exclaimed the torturer's assistant, glaring at his superior.

"You have no authority over me, boy!" the torturer snapped, glaring right back at him.

"Didn't you hear me?! I said the Keep is under attack!" Hadvar exclaimed.

"Forget the old man; I'll come with you guys," said the young assistant. Artemis glanced at him in surprise.

"At least someone here has some sense," she muttered, and her two friends both chuckled a little.

"Wait; there seems to be something in this cage," said Hadvar, walking to one of the cages on the far wall. From where she was Artemis could see there was only one body inside, one that was fairly intact, though still giving off a sickening scent.

"Oh, don't bother with that; I lost the key to that one ages ago! Poor fellow screamed for weeks," the torturer chuckled darkly, making a chill go down Artemis' spine.

Hadvar turned to the young trio, his face weary but determined. "See if any of you can get it open with some picks; we might need the gold in there once we get out of here," he said, gesturing to the door. Iolandi obediently dug some picks out of her new pack, which Richard took easily, to her surprise.

Artemis smirked, watching her friend set to work on the lock. As she moved closer to the cage, she could see a small pile of gold coins, a tome of some sort, and a potion next to the body inside. Her stomach lurched at the thought of stealing from the dead. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" she hissed to Richard.

"No," he muttered back, looking a little green even as he picked the lock. He was a bit clumsy at first – most likely he wasn't used to the old, rusty lock on the cage – but he got the hang of it quickly, making the lock open in no time and pulling the door open, the rusty hinges squealing in protest.

They set to work, scooping up the gold and potion before stepping back, unwilling to be so close to a body. Iolandi opened her pack and allowed them to pour everything in, but she suddenly moved forward to the body again, which was dressed in rather odd-looking robes.

She picked up the tome, her eyes lighting up again as she looked at it. "A mage's tome!" she said, her voice filled with awe, before she quickly slid it into the pack and scrambled away from the body much like her friends had.

"A what?" asked Artemis, quirking an eyebrow at the redhead.

"A mage's tome! It' s a book written by mages on how to learn a spell or charm! It's so rare to find one without traveling to the mage's college in Winterhold! This is a good find!" Iolandi gushed, looking ready to dance around the room in excitement as she said this.

"Ooo-kay," said Richard, looking slightly perplexed. Iolandi didn't reply, simply turning back to their two older companions.

"Come on, this way," said Hadvar, and he and the torturer's former assistant started down the dark hall of cells.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

**A/N: Hey! I'm sorry about the crappy fight scenes; as you may have noticed, fights are NOT my forte; I suck at writing them. I always have and always will, so sorry about that. BUT! I'm just glad I got another chapter done now! Anyway, I hope you all liked it, and feel free to review. BTW, the poll on who should the Dragonborn of this story be is now back on my profile, so take a look at that and vote if you haven't already.  
~Persephone**


	10. Chap 9: Escaping Helgen 4

**Richard's POV**

"There's no way out that way!" the torturer called after them as they slunk through the dark hallway to the back of the torture chamber cells. Richard sent the man a scathing look, unwilling to open his mouth lest something undesirable make its way past his lips.

He couldn't say anything with the girls around; Boy Wonder he may be, but Richard Grayson was still a gentleman, no matter how many times he had to knock out Catwoman to keep her from getting away.

They went all the way to the end of the row of cells, and at the end they entered a side corridor to the left, where the light from the torches and small cisterns holding embers inside them grew noticeably dimmer; it had probably been a while since anyone had come all the way back here, but they pushed on regardless.

The torturer's former assistant led the way down the side passage to a smaller chamber with several cages hanging above the ground, some with rotting corpses and others with withering skeletons inside them that made Artemis cringe and Iolandi squeak slightly in surprise and disgust. Richard kept his face neutral, stuck permanently in the mask Batman had taught him to keep it in in situations like this.

They went farther into the chamber until they abruptly stopped, all five of them gaping in astonishment at what was in front of them. The back wall of the mini-torture chamber had crumbled away – most likely due to the shaking and quaking the dragon's attack had caused – to reveal a natural stone corridor leading out through the rock face, a few torches already burning in holsters on the walls.

"What is this?" asked the T.F.A. (Torturers Former Assistant), looking completely shocked, "I had no idea anything like this was down here!"

"I once heard the townsfolk talking about how the mountain this place is built under used to be a potential stronghold for the dwarves of old; they abandoned it when their digging proved useless with no gold around, but I guess they must've created exit tunnels through the mountain," Iolandi piped up, walking forward to inspect the tunnel walls more closely.

"How can that be; there're no dwarven carvings on the tunnel walls, no decorations like there are in those grand old places they dig up in the Reach," said Hadvar, looking perplexed as he came forward as well, encouraging the three others to follow him up.

"I dunno; I guess they didn't have time to make all those fancy decorations. They must've left immediately once they found out there was no gold here….. But enough of that! We should keep going; the torches suggest someone else found these tunnels earlier!" Iolandi suddenly exclaimed, clapping her hands together to gain their attention, snapping them out of their curious daze.

"You're right; let's go!" said Hadvar, taking the lead once again with T.F.A. quickly appearing at his side and the three teens following behind them.

"That was pretty impressive, that you knew so much about the dwarves," Artemis hissed to the redhead, smiling at her in a friendly manner. Richard nodded in agreement, though he said nothing; he didn't know the other girl very well, but she and Artemis had been getting along swimmingly.

Iolandi blushed as crimson as her hair at their praise. "I-I just like listening to old stories about the legends of old! They're really quite fascinating no matter how many times you hear them!" she gushed, making sure to keep her voice down.

"Well, when we get out of here, you'll have to tell us some, alright?" asked Artemis, her tone leaving no room for denial. Iolandi nodded to her quickly, her blush fading a little as she did.

They continued in silence for a while down the uneven tunnels, Hadvar having grabbed a torch off the wall just in case they ran out at one point. After about fifteen minutes of running past rough stone walls, voices suddenly began echoing from up ahead, causing them all to draw their weapons simultaneously.

"Where in Oblivion are we supposed to go?! Where's the way out?!" yelled a loud male voice in frustration, making them all fall into stealthy crouches. They crept closer to the sound, peeking around a corner in the rock wall.

The tunnel had abruptly become a small cavern with an underground stream running through it, a stone bridge leading over it and a path leading alongside it. On the far side of the stream, several Stormcloak soldiers were bickering over which tunnel to take next.

Beside him, Richard felt Artemis lean forward, and he looked over to see her eyes brightening with anticipation and evil glee. He followed her gaze to see why; several of the Stormcloaks had bows and full quivers of arrows, most likely stolen from the Imperial armories in the Keep. An evil smile crept its way onto the blonde's face, making Richard want to lean away from her, but he resisted as they all returned to where they were hidden by the wall.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S  
Artemis' POV**

"What do we do?" asked T.F.A. in a hushed whisper, cracking his knuckles as he started reaching for the large mace on his hip.

"Charging in blindly isn't very smart," Artemis retorted, "They have bows and arrows; long range weapons. They could pin us down before we made it even halfway to them."

"Then it's unlikely that we'll be able to reach them from here. We could try to sneak up to them, but it's too risky; there isn't much cover in there if we're spotted," murmured Hadvar, his brow furrowing as he placed a hand on his chin, thinking about a way through the cavern.

"What about a diversion? Someone could distract them while the rest of us sneak up to them-" Artemis began, a little desperate; there was no possible way _that _would work, but they had to try something! But before she could continue with that train of thought, Iolandi quite suddenly – and a little loudly – cleared her throat with an abrupt, '_a-hem!_'

When they turned to her, the redhead wordlessly nodded to something behind them. Artemis turned around to find Richard gone from where he'd been beside her. Cursing in Vietnamese under her breath, Artemis leaned out from around the corner of the cavern once again with her companions following suit. Nothing appeared to be wrong for a few moments; the Stormcloaks were still arguing about which tunnel to take, and none of them had done anything to indicate that they were aware of the Imperial's presence.

Quite suddenly, the Boy Wonder appeared out of the shadows of the cavern on the same side as the rebels, landing on top of a pair of Stormcloaks he'd swung into with a fierce kick that knocked them to the ground. They both slammed into the ground with a painful cracking sound, making their three companions turn to the thirteen-year-old in shock, one of them exclaiming, "By the Nine!"

Artemis didn't wait to see anymore; she shot to her feet, running at a full-on sprint to the bridge and nimbly skidding into place beside her younger friend, yanking her axe out as she went. They attacked as one; each handling a Stormcloak while also attacking and blocking the attacks from the third.

Iolandi quickly appeared beside them, Hadvar and T.F.A. right behind her, and together they all took them down. Both of the hero's former protégés turned away when the two soldiers killed the rebels, Iolandi appearing unaffected by the blood.

After the deed was done, Artemis gleefully looted the bodies, ignoring the blood as she yanked a wooden long bow out of the hands of one Stormcloak before taking the quivers off of the two that had carried one. Inspecting the bow, she saw it was in perfect condition, the drying blood on it notwithstanding, and she expertly slid all of the arrows out of one quiver and putting them all into one, making sure each fit and that they would come out smoothly when she pulled one out.

"You can shoot?" asked Hadvar, rather incredulous.

Artemis raised an eyebrow at him, and without a word yanked an arrow out and shot it, the sharp '_twang!_' of the bow heralding its path as it sunk into a torch that had been hanging on a wall across the river, hitting it dead in the middle. Wrinkling her nose, she looked the bow over, not bothered by the surprised looks she was getting from the trio that didn't know her. "My aim will be better once I get used to it, but this bow is a lot like my bow back home. It shouldn't take me too long to get used to," she said simply, slipping the quiver around her back and putting the bow inside it like an expert.

Richard clapped dramatically at her display of skill, making her glare at him. "Don't think I forgot what you did' you went ahead and attacked them without us! You could've gotten shot!" she snapped, brown eyes blazing murderously.

The acrobat held up his hands in surrender, his crystal blue eyes apologetic. "I didn't want to wait for you people to think of a strategy; if I'd waited too long, they might've noticed us, and we'd be full of arrows!" he defended himself quickly.

Artemis narrowed her eyes, glare still in place, making the smaller boy back up a step warily.

Finally, without a word, the blonde huffed in annoyance and turned away, growling under her breath about 'idiot kids who have to do everything themselves'.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

**A/N: Hey everyone! The poll is still up, the Dragonborn is still undecided, and I am going to willingly accept one – ONE – OC from a fan. Yes, that's right; if you would like to submit ONE OC (Original Character) to this story, I will take it into consideration. This little contest will be held from now until September 25****th****, when the Avengers movie comes out on DVD. I am only doing this because I know I'll need a lot of OCs for this, considering I can't just use all of the game characters; there will have to be made-up characters too. If you'd like to submit an OC, submit this form in a review:**

** Name:  
Race:  
Age:  
Profession:  
Faction:  
Where they live:**

**These OCs are not mandatory, I just thought it'd be nice to get a little help; I'm running a little low on ideas for this story again. I think I might need a new Blades member, or maybe a Dark Brotherhood assassin; who knows, who cares?! I'll wait for whoever wants to submit a character, but I'll only accept ONE, unless there're a lot of REALLY AWESOME characters submitted.  
~Persephone**


	11. Chap 10: Interlude: Shadow

**? POV  
Approximately One Hour Earlier**

_Riverwood was too small. That's what she decided the moment she saw it across the stone bridge she was crossing alongside her master. "What are we doing here, Your Ladyship?" she asked, casting her older companion a questioning glance. Her tone was respectful, like always; she could never be insulting to Her Ladyship._

_ Her Ladyship, dressed in traveling gear of the purest white silk that had remained perfect despite the dangers of traveling through the forests of Skyrim for several days on end, cast her young servant a look, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "Why? Is there something wrong with this little hamlet, my little shadow?" Her Ladyship asked, her voice low and calm like the sound of water running through a brook._

_ At the sound of her old nickname, the 'Little Shadow' blushed crimson, though it looked purple on her dark grey skin. "N-no, not particularly, Your Ladyship! I-I was simply wondering what we would possibly be needed here for! We never go somewhere without reason, and I was wondering what we would need to do here!" 'Shadow' defended herself, flustered beyond belief._

_ Her Ladyship laughed softly, the musical sound like the tinkling of bells at dawn. "Ah, there is no need to worry yourself ragged, little shadow! We are merely passing through!" she said, before quickly reaching a hand up and tugging her servant's dark black hood into place on her head. "Now, hood's up! Nords are still incredibly superstitious about us 'magic faerie-elves', especially in villages that don't have any mages or priests, so don't let anyone see your face!" With that, Her Ladyship easily lifted her own hood, the wide fabric easily keeping her face invisible._

_ Hurriedly, Shadow quickly tugged her hood on correctly, ensuring it covered her face as they reached the entrance to the town. An inn was on their immediate left, with several Nord men, some drunk and some sober, talking and laughing heartily on the front porch. A few young children, who couldn't have been older than ten or eleven, were running about nearby, playing with a shaggy dog and squealing with delight in their high-pitched voices. Shadow couldn't suppress a wince at the sound, her incredibly heightened ears ringing slightly. Her Ladyship seemed unperturbed, not at all bothered by the noises of the village, not even the roar of the lumber mill nearby or the clang of the blacksmith's hammer on metal off to their right._

_ As soon as one of the Nords noticed the two travelers, he pointed them out to his friends, and their raucous laughter broke off abruptly. The children's giggling soon cut off as well, when the eldest boy saw them first. The dog barked at them, seeming surprised by their sudden lack of movement, before seemingly noticing the pair for the first time and barking at them loudly, making Shadow wince again._

_ Having the entire group's attention fixed solely on them made Shadow nervous, and she began running one gloved hand up and down her arm subconsciously. Her Ladyship ignored the looks, simply walking past the group and heading toward a building with a sign that said 'The Riverwood Trader'. Shadow quickly followed her master, unwilling to stay somewhere with so many humans – especially ones who __**stared **__at her, which she __**really **__didn't like._

_ Her Ladyship opened the door to the Riverwood Trader soundlessly, Shadow following her inside. Once the door shut, the noises outside were muffled slightly, something Shadow praised Azura for. The shop owner, behind his little counter of wares and weapons, looked surprised to see such oddly dressed customers in his shop; one dressed in pure white, almost like an angel, and the other dressed in pure black like a walking embodiment of Death – what were those things called in that other world? Oh yes: 'Grim Reapers'. Shadow guessed she looked very much like one of those 'Grim Reapers' from those stories Her Ladyship had told her._

_ "W-welcome to the Riverwood Trader! How may I help you this fine day?" the man asked politely, if a little shakily. Shadow felt her lips curve upward a little; though they were disguised, not many humans could speak so easily around an elf, since they often exuded an aura of power that left many wary of their presence. This man was quite brave, Shadow had to admit._

_ Her Ladyship was pleased, if her warm tone was anything to guess by as she said, "Ah, yes, please. I need to know if you have any fresh health potions in the store. It's been a while since we restocked on those."_

_ "Uh, yes, I believe we do! One moment please!" the man said, hurriedly turning behind him to look at the shelves behind him, which were covered in a vast array of traveling wares, though their amount was quite small. Shadow guessed that not many travelers showed up in this little village, but when they did they often had interesting baubles to sell to the man._

_ After several moments, the man turned back to them, three small pink-red bottles in hand. He looked sheepish as he admitted, "Forgive me, this is all I have at the moment. My next shipment of potions isn't due for another few months-"_

_ "They're enough," Her Ladyship cut him off abruptly, though her tone was polite, "How much?"_

_ "Ah, for all three, about 39 gold pieces," the man said, trying not to fidget with the bottles in his hands as Her Ladyship easily swept a bit of her cloak back to reveal a little more of her traveling gear – it was white, too – but it also revealed the golden hilt of her sword strapped to her hip, which she bypassed as she took a small bag of gold off her side and began to delicately count out the gold pieces required._

_ Shadow ignored his nervous state, instead watching her master count her gold. It was odd, seeing her master acting so quiet and delicate when Shadow knew how she was on the battlefield; odd, and yet amazing, too._

_ "There!" Her Ladyship trilled, placing a handful of gold pieces on the countertop, "39 gold pieces exactly! Feel free to count them out if you must," she offered, gesturing to the gold._

_ The man, who had seemed to drift off in a stupor, jumped at the sound of her voice. "Oh, no, that won't be necessary madam. Here," he said, hurriedly handing the potions over to the woman._

_ Her Ladyship grinned, showing off her pearly teeth. "Thank you, kind sir!" she said, bowing her head slightly to him. Shadow wrinkled her nose; it should be the _human _bowing, not the other way around, but she held her tongue._

_ After securing the potions in her side pouch, Her Ladyship nodded once more to the man before opening the door with a flourish and walking outside, Shadow nearly tripping over her own feet to keep up with her. Outside, the noise returned to its full volume with a vengeance, making Shadow almost squeak in discomfort before she could lock her lips shut._

_ Her Ladyship turned left, returning to the road through the town they'd been on before their stop, and Shadow quickly followed her, trying desperately not to think about how she'd humiliated herself in front of a bunch of _humans.

_"Well, that wasn't too bad, was it?" Her Ladyship asked knowingly, grinning once again at her younger companion as she led the way down the street, past a small house and the blacksmith's forge before they walked through the small village's second gate and onto the main road once again._

_ "It was perfectly horrid!" Shadow protested, her voice miffed even though she was trying to remain polite to her superior, "They were staring at us like we were some circus sideshow!"_

_ "Oh, they were not! They were observing the strange travelers passing through their village," Her Ladyship retorted, glancing around them carefully before pulling her hood off her beautiful face._

_ Shadow did the same, yanking her hood off less carefully and pulling a few strands of hair out of the ponytail she'd tied it in earlier. This made her growl lowly is distaste, which only made Her Ladyship laugh again, the sound still incredibly close to bells tolling. Her Ladyship opened her mouth again to say something, but before she could, she froze on the spot, her body jarring to a stop on the path._

_ Shadow stopped as well, quirking an eyebrow at her master. "My Lady? Is everything alright?" she asked._

_ Her Ladyship didn't say a word, but her already palely colored face drained of whatever color it had, becoming a sickly and unattractive ash gray color. Her eyes unfocused and she suddenly began to pitch forward to the ground._

_ Shadow cried out in surprise and protest, rushing forward and catching her master before she could hit the ground. "My Lady!" she cried, "What's wrong?! Are you alright?!"_

_ Slowly, awareness seemed to return to her master – her eyes refocused, and her body started to move a little – but her face remained ashen. "Your Ladyship?" Shadow asked, scared, as her master slowly righted herself and stood up, though she kept a shaking hand on her servant's shoulder to steady herself._

_ "Something's wrong," she said quietly, passing a trembling hand over her face and rubbing her eyelids, "There is… a presence; something evil I have not felt for many ages in the land. The very wind is screaming in protest, crying out of his return."_

_ "'His' return? Who is 'he'?" Shadow asked quietly, carefully watching her master's face regain a little of its original color._

_ Her Ladyship didn't answer for a long while, instead turning to look at the sky in the southwest. Shadow remained silent, following her master's gaze to the sky but seeing nothing. Finally, when Shadow had opened her mouth to repeat her question, Her Ladyship beat her to it. "Alduin, the World-Eater, has returned to Nirn," she said quietly, almost a whisper that was impossible to hear._

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

**A/N: … CLIFFHANGER! Yep. So, we meet an OC (that was ****_my _****OC, by the way!) and she seems to know a thing or two about what's going on with Alduin. Can you say awesome or what? Anyway, I know most people have already guessed, but if anyone would like to guess which race 'Her Ladyship' and 'Shadow' are, feel free to guess in a review and see if you're right. Anyway, these two OCs ****_will _****be important later on, but for now, they're just background characters that we don't know much about.**

**Well, the OC contest is still going on, but I'd like to make a request; if anyone could send in an Imperial soldier or something, that'd be great. BUT! I really like the entries so far; they're pretty creative, and I can't wait to work with either one of them or all of them (still deciding on that). Anyway, hope you all like this so far, and please tell me what you think of the newest characters I brought in!  
~Persephone**


	12. Chap 11: Escaping Helgen 5

**Artemis' POV**

"Well, I think I'll head back and see if any other soldiers made it into the Keep; you guys go on ahead," said T.F.A., waving the rest of the group forward with one hand as he turned back across the stone bridge over the river to return to the tunnel they had first emerged from.

"You sure? We must be getting close to the exit about now," said Richard. Artemis nodded along with him, although she honestly didn't have a clue whether or not they were anywhere near the surface, or if they were just heading deeper under the mountain at the moment.

"No, that's alright. Go on, I'll catch up with anyone else I find," the young man said, nodding to them in farewell before disappearing back into the corridor.

"Well, which way now?" asked Iolandi, turning back to the three tunnel entrances that lay in front of the remaining group.

"Hmm," hummed Hadvar, leaning into the entrance of the middle one. Artemis peeked around the tunnel entrance on the far left curiously, wrinkling her nose at the scent of stale air that wafted out of it. "Not this one," she coughed, turning back quickly, "The air is foul down there!"

"I don't like the looks of this one," Hadvar muttered, backing away from the middle entrance.

"Well, third time's the charm, then!" Richard exclaimed, clapping his hands together and grabbing one of the former Stormcloak's torches off the wall, pointing it into the far right tunnel.

Iolandi leaned into that one slightly, turning back and smiling brightly like a Christmas tree. "He's right! There's a draft of fresh air coming from this tunnel!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Thank god! Er – _the _gods! I hate being stuck in this cave!" Artemis sighed, quickly catching herself and correcting her statement, though it did gain her odd looks from their native friends and an amused look from Richard.

"Alright then; let's see where this goes," said Hadvar, gingerly taking the torch from Richard and taking the lead at the head of the group, making Richard give him a disgruntled look that amused both teen girls behind him.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

The tunnel changed all around them. _A lot._

They'd been wandering through the flickering dark passage for a little more than half an hour if Artemis' internal clock was right, and she was already beginning to feel claustrophobic. The walls came together so tightly in some places that it forced them to all squeeze through individuallyone-by-one, a quite uncomfortable experience. In other places, the tunnel was wide enough for two of them to walk side-by-side. These areas usually left the girls in the back with the two men – _ahem, _one man, one boy – in the lead with the girls just behind them. This suited Artemis just fine; she preferred being in the lead most of the time, but staying in the back allowed her to chat with the only other female in their ragtag team, and it let her learn a few things; they had been in a village called _Helgen, _on the outskirts of _Falkreath _Hold in the country of _Skyrim. _Half the things Iolandi began talking about confused Artemis immensely, but she nodded along and smiled in what seemed to be the right places, and for the most part it worked, although there were a few things she asked Iolandi to explain in more detail – like the Stormcloaks.

"So, who exactly are these Stormcloak guys? Why is the Empire fighting them?" she asked, cringing when Iolandi looked at her incredulously.

"Oh! That's right, you're from Cyrodiil; you must not get much news on the war!" Iolandi exclaimed, planting a hand on her forehead in a 'duh!' expression that made the blonde archer grin sheepishly.

"Well, it's kinda complicated," stated Iolandi, lifting her arms up to rest her crossed hands on the back of her head in a relaxed position, her voice quiet though loud enough for all of them to hear, "It all began in the year 4E 186 when Ulfric Stormcloak, the Jarl – uh, leader – of Eastmarch, the Hold northeast of here, began preaching about how the Empire had given up too easily in the Great War against the Elves, and that the White-Gold Concordat was made to oppress us. The Thalmor, the leading faction of the Aldmeri Dominion, claimed the treaty was necessary for peace between us – the Elves and the humans – since if the treaty had never been signed, the Dominion could've wiped out the Empire and left the humans in a state of ruin. Ulfric ignored their words, stating over and over that the Empire gave up too easily and that they should've kept fighting for our freedom from the Dominion– which, in my opinion, is a load of troll crap; I mean, what does Ulfric want, for the war to restart?! If the Elves hadn't been so generous as to offer us peace, they could've just erased us from the world completely!"

By this point, Iolandi's voice had grown venomous and scornful, her face twisted in a sneer of contempt for the Stormcloak leader that made Artemis lean away from her slightly, startled at the ferocity of her words. Casting a look forward, Artemis wasn't surprised to see Hadvar nodding along in agreement with the redhead, his expression set in stone. Richard shared a glance with the archer, both outsiders feeling a little out of step with this entire situation, though Artemis was beginning to understand – Ulfric had wanted the war to continue simply because he didn't want to be controlled. Understandable, considering the same thing happened between America and Britain during the Revolution, but considering that the odds here had been between peace and annihilation…. Artemis suddenly realized the reason for the other girl's ire; Ulfric had been talking trash about the people – well, _Elves _– that had been kind enough to allow them to continue without total domination over them. It was simply ludicrous.

"Anyway, Ulfric's words started making sense to some people – I don't know how, but they all came together under Ulfric's banner and began fighting against the Empire and the Thalmor at once. The Empire started calling them 'Stormcloaks', after their leader, and it just stuck, I guess. So, the Stormcloaks have been fighting over rule of Skyrim for about fifteen years now and today could've been a great day; the day when Ulfric Stormcloak finally faced justice for his crimes! But then that damn dragon had to come and ruin everything!" Now Iolandi was snarling, glaring at the shadows surrounding them as if it were their fault this all happened.

Artemis winced at her voice's rise in volume, biting her lip to keep quiet herself – she didn't want to remind her friend that if the dragon hadn't come, she and Richard would most likely be dead. It wasn't the girls fault; she probably had family who'd suffered from the war, and Artemis could understand why she'd want peace to come back to the land.

"Why would anyone join with him? He sounds like he's on an insane suicide mission to me," commented Richard, making Artemis jump slightly as her attention returned to the tunnel.

Hadvar was the one who answered this time. "The White-Gold Concordat, although essential to bring peace, also stated that the Empire must outlaw the worship of Talos, one of the Nine Divines that the Nords and many others have believed in and worshipped for centuries. Ulfric was a devout follower of Talos, and used the animosity the ban generated to rally many to his cause. He also used examples of exaggerated or set up problems between the Thalmor and the general human populace to bring more. The most prominent method he has used thus far to gather followers is stirring up the animosity between Elves and humans; many humans, Imperial and Stormcloak alike, dislike anything distinctly nonhuman. Heck, some of them hate anything that isn't a fellow Nord, or Breton, or Imperial! Humans and anything that seems unnatural don't mix most of the time, so Ulfric simply spread rumors and lies among the humans and let everything snowball from there," he said with a sigh, shaking his head as if in disappointment.

"That's just so wrong," Artemis muttered, glaring darkly at the ground, "Hating something nonhuman just because it doesn't seem natural! I had a lot of nonhuman friends back home! They were all perfectly nice!"

"I wish we could all have friends like that," Iolandi sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"…. So, had the war officially start? They were a small rebellion in the beginning, I get it, but this all seems pretty hardcore now," said Richard, casting a glance over his shoulder at the redhead behind him and the older man beside him.

Iolandi breathed out slowly, chewing her lip as if contemplating what to say. "Well, about half a year ago now, Ulfric challenged Skyrim's High King, Torygg, to a duel to the death, as is tradition when someone believes they could rule the country better. He said that if he defeated Torygg, it would be proof that the Empire had grown weak under the Thalmor's rule. Torygg accepted the challenge, and they battled in Skyrim's capital, Solitude, way to the northwest of here. However, as they were fighting, Ulfric cheated, using a long-dead magic called the Voice to knock Torygg down, allowing him to slice off the High King's head. It was murder, duel or not! They should've been fighting on equal grounds, but instead Ulfric uses a trick to win, instead of his wit or strength! It wasn't fair at all! Anyway, after that, Lady Elisif the Fair, Torygg's wife and queen, who'd been watching the duel, immediately screamed for Ulfric's arrest, and the guards came running, but Ulfric, being the coward that he is, used the Voice to knock them away and escape into the city. It is said that the guard at the city gate let him through, being a secret Talos worshipper and Stormcloak follower. Ulfric escaped due to luck and tricks, leaving the man who let him go to be captured and running all the way back to his city, too afraid to accept the consequences of his foolish actions, and the war has escalated ever since. Ulfric managed to convince the Jarls of the Rift, the Pale, and Winterhold to join him, splitting Skyrim right down the middle, and it's been touch-and-go for the last few months. The Thalmor haven't been able to help much; they only have a small headquarters here in Skyrim, and they're already busy enough trying to stamp out Talos worship and keeping Stormcloak followers from crossing into their territory. It's been complete insanity, and today could've ended it all," she sighed again.

"Hey, I'm sure there'll be another chance!" Artemis said, patting the girl a little awkwardly on the shoulder.

"Yeah, wars never last forever!" Richard said positively.

"No, but they can last for more than one century," said Iolandi sourly, effectively killing the cheer Richard had tried to bring into the darkness and snuffing all conversation out for a long time.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S  
Richard's POV**

More than an hour and a half later, all four teammates were in a foul mood, glaring stubbornly into the darkness as they trudged along the ever-moving-downward tunnel. The current that had led them down here was weak, and Richard began to suspect it came from a hole in the ceiling instead of an exit, making his feet drag with weariness and despair.

'_Keep going!_' a voice in his head quickly admonished him, '_Robin the Boy Wonder doesn't give up so easily!_' Shaking his head to wake himself up a little, Richard straightened his strides and kept his eyes fixed ahead, into the gloom.

It wasn't long after that that Hadvar suddenly froze, making the three teens stop as well. "What is-?" Artemis began, but Hadvar quickly hissed a fierce "shh!"

They all stayed still, listening intently, and when he held his breath, Richard swore he could hear running water. '_The stream!_' he realized.

"Come on!" Hadvar cried, rushing forward with an energy he lacked five minutes ago. They all followed without a word, though Richard could tell from the excited looks the girls shared that he wasn't the only one hoping this was an exit.

Hadvar pulled ahead on his longer legs, leaving the teens to trail after the light of the torch in dimmer light. Richard could hear Iolandi drawing a deep breath, as if to call to him to slow down, when Hadvar suddenly skidded to a stop of his own accord, prompting Richard to nearly crash into his back and the girls to trip slightly as they stopped too.

The tunnel had widened into a small cavern, the stream – which had become a small river by now – running down the rocks out of a tunnel to the far left. But, to reach the river and the tunnel, they had to cross what looked to be a several centuries old wooden-rope bridge, with no railings whatsoever and severe evidence of termite damage all across it. Underneath the bridge was a yawning chasm, about twenty feet across, with no bottom available to sight.

"By the Eight!" gasped Iolandi, taking a step back from the edge. She was quickly joined by the others, all of them warily studying the rotted thing.

"Well, what now?" asked Artemis, crossing her arms to stare at the chasm with a twisted grimace of annoyance and frustration.

"Should we go back?" suggested Richard, though the idea held little appeal to him; the torch was quickly burning down, only about eight inches above meeting Hadvar's already burned hands.

"But none of the other tunnels were very promising!" Iolandi said, distress rising in her voice. Richard silently cursed; she'd been strong so far, but if she had a breakdown, they'd either have to wait until she calmed down or leave her behind. Neither option was very promising at the current moment.

Artemis tensed, as if sensing Iolandi's rising panic, and Richard would've helped her keep her calm if she'd actually done it; but instead, Artemis suddenly surged forward, running onto the wooden bridge and leaping off it near the end, hitting the stone ground and stumbling slightly at the loss of momentum as she landed safely on the opposite side. The ropes and wood groaned ominously but did nothing else, swaying a little as the blonde archer got across.

"What in Oblivion?!" Hadvar exclaimed, and Iolandi cried out in terror. Richard heard both distantly, his attention riveted on the girl who'd nearly fallen to her death right in front of him.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" he shouted across to her, shaking slightly in shock as Artemis turned back to them, a smug look on her face.

"Not really, are you?" she shot back, grinning and then waving her hand at the three of them. "I'll go on ahead and see if there's a way out; you guys try to get across without wetting yourselves!"

The insane archer turned and walked farther into the cavern toward the river, the use of Hadvar's torch suddenly useless as there appeared to be a variety of small glowing mushrooms growing on the walls on either side.

"Don't go too far ahead!" Hadvar yelled at her, though he looked ready to say a few more things instead – most likely to berate her insane leap of faith – and Richard would've gladly joined him if he weren't currently trying to calm his racing heart. That had been too close; he hated it when people took insane risks like that, despite the fact that he usually had to pull off those stunts to save people.

"So," said Hadvar, turning back to the two remaining teens, "Who's next?"

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

**A/N: Ugh, weak ending! I had a much better version of this chapter written on my _old _hard-drive, but because of the virus… Ahem, never mind. Anyway! This is the story I've decided to continue ASAP, though I'll try to get to work on all my other stories as well. Eventually, anyway.**

**P.S. Who else was pissed off at the lack of new Young Justice: Invasion episode this week? I nearly broke the TV in my rage! LOL**

**P.S.S. There is a new poll on my profile for which quests the duo should undertake once they get out of the tunnels, so keep an eye out for it. I know most people will want the main quest, but there are other quests other people may want to see instead.  
~Persephone**


	13. Chap 12: Escaping Helgen 6

**A/N: Hey people! I just wanted to clear one thing up before we go on; the thing discussed in the last chapter (Ulfric is to blame for the war, etc.) is my own personal opinion of the incident. I wasn't defending the Thalmor or the Aldmeri Dominion in the argument, I was just giving my own explanation of what happened; though I will admit that, although they're supposed to be the bad guys, I really do like the Dominion. Not because they're good or awesome, but because I am a true Elf fan. :) I'm on the Elves side, as you'll probably be able to tell in future chapters, but I obviously still support humans. And I shall give my reasons for my Elven loyalty later (much later), so I guess… that's it!**

**P.S. Don't be surprised if this chapter kinda sucks; I love this story and all, but I'm kinda getting impatient with how long it's taking them to get out of the fricking cave, so I'm gonna try to speed things up in this chapter.**

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S  
Artemis' POV**

Picking several glowing mushrooms off of the nearby walls, Artemis squinted her eyes warily as she inspected the cavern in front of her. She could hear the trio she'd left on the other side of the bridge arguing about who would go next behind her, and she rolled her eyes.

'_Just hurry it up!_' she thought, shaking her head as she walked forward through the cavern, toward the river and the tunnel it led down.

"Don't go too far ahead!" Hadvar yelled at her, and she rolled her eyes again.

"It's fine! I'm just going to see where this tunnel goes!" she called back, pointing to the only available exit, "I'll be fine!"

"No-! Artemis, wait for us to get over there!" Richard yelled, but Artemis, being the headstrong and foolishly brave person that she was – she definitely would've been a Gryffindor in _Harry Potter_ – ducked into the tunnel, not heeding their shouts to turn back.

"If you want to stop me, get the hell over here!" she snapped loudly over her shoulder, shivering after she spoke as the freezing water of the river hit her legs. It was way close to being below zero; this water had probably never felt the warmth of the sun, and it chilled her legs to the bone.

'_Cold, cold, cold!_' Artemis squealed internally, running through the water into the tunnel, looking for a ledge to climb onto to relieve her feet of the freezing water. She eventually found another tunnel branching off of the river's path, and she leapt up onto the dry land, shivering madly and dripping all over the stones.

Cursing quietly, Artemis leaned around to follow the river's tunnel, wrinkling her nose in distaste as she lifted the handful of phosphorescent fungus to reveal that a great deal of rocks had piled into the tunnel, making it impossible to continue along inside the river. The only holes allowing passage through the rocks were just large enough the let the running water through without completely stopping it.

"Okay, let's see where _this _goes," she sighed, turning back to the tunnel she'd just jumped into.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S  
Richard's POV**

Richard raced over the bridge, his heart leaping into his throat as the wood moaned in protest. Iolandi quickly caught him before he went sailing past her into the cavern beyond, but his momentum caused them both to go sprawling onto the ground. The trio left behind had decided to go across lightest to heaviest, and though it had taken a bit coaxing, the two males had convinced the redhead to go first, much to her displeasure.

Said redhead groaned as she rolled over onto her hands and knees as Richard sat up, smiling at her sheepishly. "Sorry," he said, quickly jumping to his feet and offering her a hand. Iolandi glared at it a moment before taking it begrudgingly, her mouth twisted into a rueful sneer as she got her balance. "Just try not to do that again, please," she said with a sigh.

The boy nodded as they both turned back to watch as Hadvar made the mad dash to safety. He didn't waste any time; he was halfway across by the time Richard turned to look. The man quickly barreled past both teens, barely managing to keep from accidentally tackling one of them like Richard had.

"Good, we're all across," said Iolandi with a relieved sigh, "Now that that's over, we should probably find Artemis."

"She just _had _to go ahead, didn't she?" Richard muttered to himself, loudly enough for the others to hear him, rolling his eyes childishly and making aforementioned redhead giggle slightly and Hadvar give him an exasperated look. He didn't care if he was being immature, Richard just wasn't in the mood to act all grown up and responsible like usual. Perhaps it was the fact that a small bite of claustrophobia was beginning to gnaw at his stomach, but he could feel his need to _get out of these tunnels _growing stronger by the moment.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

The water was freezing, making Iolandi yelp and leap right back out of it the first time she went into it, but after an assortment of hissed profanities she got back in with the two males and they all quickly headed down the tunnel, finding the ledge much like Artemis had

perhaps ten minutes ago.

"You think she went down this way?" asked Hadvar, squinting into the blackness much like the blonde had.

"Had to, it's either down here or back where we just were," Richard reasoned.

They began heading down the tunnel, all three companions clustered around Hadvar's slowly dying torch as the inky darkness pressed down on them.

"By the Eight!" Iolandi exclaimed, raising a hand to cover her mouth and nose as a sick scent floated through the stale air, "What in Oblivion could make such a foul stench?!"

"Don't know," said Hadvar, his voice muffled as he too covered his mouth, an act quickly copied by the Boy Wonder beside him, "Perhaps a Forsworn cultist left one of those nasty offerings in here?"

"Nah, we're too far east; they never go anywhere this far into Falkreath," Iolandi reasoned, her bright green eyes watering slightly at the smell, "Though it might be something from one of those accursed Daedra worshippers. My uncle said there was an unnatural number of them here compared to the beginning of the war-"

Anything else the girl might've said was abruptly cut off by a high, piercing scream of terror from farther down the tunnel.

"ARTEMIS?!" Richard exclaimed, shooting ahead of his companions before the shrill note could cut off, the other two shouting at him in surprise.

"HELP!" the voice shrieked, and Richard felt ice-cold horror chill his spine; he had _never _heard the archer sound so utterly scared before, "RICHARD! SOMEONE! HELP ME!"

The tunnel curved a few times, but Richard didn't dare slow down until the tunnel suddenly widened into a semi-large cave, and the young acrobat almost immediately froze on the spot, transfixed by the terrible scene in front of him.

It was no wonder Artemis had screamed so loudly; she was currently pinned to the ground, wrapped in tight swaths of white silky threads of web. On top of her was the _largest spider _Richard had _ever _seen in his _life; _it had to be the size of a medium-sized dog, with eight spindly legs supporting a large bulbous body and eight beady black eyes staring at him above twin pincers the size of garden hedge clippers. Its entire body was colored in a curious mix of rusty-red and salmon-pink, making it a strange shade of orange, but Richard failed to realize this at the moment as he stared, wide-eyed, at the thing.

The spider clicked its pincers, staring at him as if surprised that another fly had so easily flown into its web. It touched Artemis with its legs, patting her as if to make sure her bindings were tight, and the blonde archer shuddered with revulsion where she lay, glaring up at it with a mix of terror and fury in her brown eyes.

_Click-click, clack, _went the spider's pincers, making a low humming sound as if approving that she was tied up correctly, then the horrendous thing crawled off of Artemis and made its way toward Richard, who shakily drew his short sword, suddenly wishing that he had taken one of the huge broadswords back when this entire crazy adventure began; he could barely lift one even with both hands, but at least it would've kept the _thing _in front of him farther away.

At the sight of the shining metal the spider reared up on its back four legs, holding its front four up in a threatening position that wouldn't have bothered Richard at all if it didn't bring the thing's height up higher, making him almost able to reach Richard's head. The black eyes glared at him warily, clicking softly to itself, as if strategizing what to do next now that its prey had a weapon.

"Don't let it-!" Artemis shouted at him, but she was too late; the spider suddenly spat a glob of web at him. Richard was so stunned he had no time to react as the web whacked into him, sending him sprawling to the ground. Immediately the thing was on him, its furry legs wrapping around him and web beginning to thread its way onto him. Richard struggled with the might of a madman, yelling so loudly it nearly drowned out Artemis' frantic screams as fear began clouding his senses; he knew what spiders did with their food, he knew how they ate, and that was one fate the Boy Wonder _would not accept._

And suddenly, with a loud _crunch, _everything stopped. Richard froze as the spider went limp, its heavy body still on top of him, its web still wrapped on him, and Artemis still sobbing hysterically nearby. Quickly, with another _whack, _the spider's body was sent sailing across the cave into one of the large web sacs that lined the caves walls by something with quite impressive strength; Richard himself hadn't been able to heave the thing off him.

Looking around himself was difficult, since his eyes seemed to be the only things able to move now that he was wrapped up like a mummy, Richard was quite honestly shocked to see a very hysterical Iolandi standing next to him, shaking like a leaf all over and clutching her mace like a lifeline with trembling hands, her green eyes wide with terror. "I-I-I-I h-h-hate those d-damn th-things!" she stuttered, tears filling her eyes as she dropped to her knees beside Richard.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

**A/N: Yay! Iolandi got a hero moment! Well, don't worry; the 'Eternal Legends' poll will be back up on my profile soon, after I get a few more opinions on my Harry Potter one. Sorry if this chapter sucked, and for anyone wondering; I really, really, ****_really _****hate spiders, so I decided to add my fear into this story a little *grins sheepishly* sorry anyone who also has arachnophobia, I just hate the little bastards…. *shudders* Anyway, see ya next chapter!  
~Persephone**


	14. Chap 13: Unbound

**Richard's POV**

"Oh g-gods, I'm s-so s-sorry we took so long!" Iolandi sobbed as she began to rip the webbing off of Richard's arms, who said nothing, too shocked at the fact that the _redhead _of all people had saved him, "I-it's my d-damn fault, I t-tripped in the corridor and n-nearly pulled Hadvar d-down w-with me!"

Speaking of Hadvar, the tall brunette man had crossed over to Artemis, pulling out his sword and slicing through the thick cords still binding her, his face white as chalk. "What do you reckon is next?" he asked, smiling in a sarcastic manner as he pulled the blonde free. "Giant snakes?"

"I pray to Kynareth that there aren't!" Iolandi snapped back, her eyes flying up to glare at him with such a surprising amount of fury that Richard saw Hadvar actually flinch away from her slightly.

Finally yanking the last bits of web off of the pair, Artemis quickly crawled over to Richard, who carefully hugged her in an awkward way as she trembled against him, still shaken and staring blankly at the spider carcass on the ground barely nine feet away. "W-wh-what the _hell _is that thing?!" she hissed, brown eyes full of furious tears as she glared at it, "Spiders are _not _supposed to grow that large!"

"I keep forgetting you're not from around here," said Hadvar, shaking his head slightly at them before leaning down and offering a hand to the pair of them. With a small effort, Richard was able to lift himself and Artemis to their feet, making sure not loosen his hold on her at all.

"_That,_" said Iolandi, glaring at the carcass as well while gripping her mace tighter in her hand, "-is a Frostbite Spider; they're indigenous only to Skyrim. My uncle – he used to be a wanderer – said they only ever live in the far northern, snowy regions of Skyrim, or in the tunnels underneath. They're _awful _things; one got into the village when I was little and attacked me and my friends. Before the guards killed it, it managed to bite one of the village kids. We didn't have a proper healer at the time. He perished in two hours from the venom."

Richard couldn't suppress his own shudder of revulsion as he thought of how close he and Artemis had gotten to a death from the spider's venom. "Are there anymore here?" he asked quietly, casting his eyes around them; the cavern was covered in cobwebs and dead husks that most likely were the Frostbite Spider's previous meals, but there was no sign of anything else.

"Doesn't look like it, but keep on your toes," suggested Hadvar. Slowly, he took the lead again and began walking toward the only other tunnel leading out of the spider's chamber besides the one they'd all entered from. Iolandi went next, after giving Artemis and Richard a worried look, but Richard sent her ahead of them as he cautiously began leading Artemis out of the room, several paces behind the others.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently, his blue eyes scanning her face warily in case she suddenly burst into tears.

Artemis stubbornly nodded, lifting her hands and quickly swiping the moisture out of her eyes. "Y-yeah, it's just- I've been afraid of spiders since I was little, so that…. That wasn't very helpful," she muttered, glaring at the ground.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

After about a quarter hour of walking in a dark tunnel, the only available light coming from the handful of glowing mushrooms Artemis had brought along, they reached another cavern, this one dimly lit from above with holes in the cave's ceiling, allowing sunlight to stream through unhindered. "I knew we were near the surface!" Iolandi squealed with glee.

The underground river had reappeared from underneath the rocks. The quartet followed it to a natural stone bridge that they crossed quickly, eager to get out of the suffocating darkness.

Suddenly, Hadvar, still in the lead, froze on the spot, quickly crouching low to the ground behind a large boulder. The teens quickly joined him. "What is it now?" asked Artemis scathingly, "Your giant snakes?"

Hadvar cast a withering look in her direction before shaking his head and pointing at a great black something twenty feet in front of them. "There's a bear just ahead; see her?" he asked.

Oh yes, they did; the bear was laying on its side, apparently trying to get comfortable on the rocky ground as it twitched unhappily where it was.

"That thing is _massive,_" gasped Iolandi, staring at the black lump with weary eyes, "How in Oblivion can we get past it?"

Richard narrowed his eyes, opening his mouth to answer, when Artemis simply scoffed and drew her bow and an arrow out of the quiver on her back. "Isn't it obvious?" she asked, smirking at the redhead's astonished face, "We kill it!"

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

**Artemis' POV**

Artemis couldn't help but feel immensely satisfied with herself when she sent the first arrow directly into the bear's brain with barely any effort at all on her part. After the Frostbite Spider, she'd been wanting to let her frustration at her own helplessness out on something; it was probably lucky the bear had been around, or else she would've been snappish with her companions – well, more snappish than she usually was.

She marched ahead resolutely, not even grimacing as she drew her arrow out of the bear's eye socket and quickly wiped it off on a patch of mossy rock near the underground river and shoved it back into her quiver, looping her bow over her shoulder when she was done. Without waiting for the others, she set off at a brisk pace, more determined than ever to just _get out _of the hellhole they'd been wandering in for the better part of two hours.

The sunlight penetrated the rocks above as Artemis went down the tunnel first left, then right; left again; one more right; and now she could see a large opening in the rocks above, the exit from the tunnel clear as day in front of her.

"Found it!" she called over her shoulder excitedly, spinning around as her group appeared around the corner. Iolandi squealed in excitement as Richard let out a triumphant whoop.

"I knew we'd make it!" cried Hadvar, and together, the foursome walked resolutely up the sharp incline and into the sunlight.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

**A/N: Short: Yes. Simple: Yes. Crappy: YES! UGH! I can't believe I just wrote that! BLEGH! THAT SUCKED! But, I had ****_no _****inspiration for this whatsoever, so it isn't too shocking. I'm so tired and distracted right now it's not even funny. I'm sorry, my dear fans, if this chapter wasn't as good as the others, but I just wanted to get them out of the ****_goddamn _****cave and into the action already! For anyone wondering, I have ****_another _****new poll on my profile now (I know; I have too many polls, but who cares?!) this poll is about whether or not Iolandi should stick with the duo after they escape the cave. I just wanted to hear my reader's opinion on the matter. The poll will stay up until November 9****th****, so vote before then if you intend to.  
~Persephone**


	15. Chap 14: To Riverwood!

**A/N: *Peeks out from behind Dwarven Centurion* Oh, hey guys! It's been a while, huh? Eheheh, sorry about that. Luckily, I have four excuses: A) I had ****_major _****writers block. B) My finals were coming up, so I had to study 24/7. C) I got the Dragonborn DLC for Skyrim and have been playing nonstop since my exams ended. And D) I also got Dragon Age: Origins and have been playing that too. :) Sorry it took me so long to update, but here's a chapter just for you!**

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S  
Artemis' POV**

Light exploded across Artemis' vision, making her a bit disoriented for a second. She stopped at the mouth of the tunnel, blinking madly to restore her sight as her friends did the same. Richard was the first to seemingly recover, walking forward hesitantly, one hand held out in front of him as if to stop him from running into anything.

Eventually, after a few minutes of hazy colors flying past Artemis' eyes, the blobs of color took form and solidified into a very beautiful forest landscape, stretching out around the mountain on all sides. A thin worn dirt track led from the tunnel forward, curving around a group of rocks until it was out of sight. Artemis sincerely hoped it led to a road of some sort, as she had no idea where they were.

Hadvar had walked out by then as well, standing beside Richard, who was leaning against a tall boulder, surveying their surroundings like a hawk. "We made it," Hadvar sighed, seeming to slump against the boulder in exhaustion. Artemis could feel her own limbs begin to weaken at the thought that they were finally, _finally _out of danger, finally out of those godforsaken tunnels.

"Not yet," Richard said, his voice cutting through the warm sense of relief that had settled over the group like fog. He gestured to the woodland around them. "We won't be anywhere near safe until we reach a town of some kind. We don't know if there are wild animals around here that might hurt us if we stay too long. We need a place to rest; and soon, by the looks of it," he added as Iolandi slumped to the ground at the tunnel mouth, her expression frustrated but set in a stubborn pout. It seemed she was finally reaching her limit.

"I can't move another inch, let alone the nearest town!" the redhead hissed. "We should be grateful we made it out of those tunnels! Can't we take a minute?!"

Artemis turned to her, ready to try persuading her to get up, when the loud _thump-thump _of scaly wings hitting wind filled the air from above.

"Hide!" Artemis whisper-shouted to the two males as she dragged Iolandi back inside the cave, hiding in the same darkness that had plagued them for the last two and a half hours. Richard and Hadvar disappeared into the forest, hiding in the trees, as a huge black nightmare appeared overhead, roaring in victory as it sailed over the mountain in a matter of seconds when it had taken so long to go underneath it.

The dragon that had just finished massacring an innocent village flew onward, not bothering to look down at the forest beneath it, either unaware or uncaring of the victims that had escaped it's purging of Helgen. It continued on, flying on and on until the sight of it disappeared on the horizon.

Slowly, warily, Artemis poked her head out of the cave, her redheaded counterpart beside her, green eyes wide as they surveyed the landscape with a new level of caution.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S  
Richard's POV**

The two male companions appeared from behind trees, both their faces ashen as they glared in the direction the dragon had flown off. "Looks like he's gone for good this time; but I don't think we should stick around to see if he comes back," Hadvar said, sighing slightly in relief now that the most pressing danger was gone.

"Agreed. We should get moving," said Richard, looking back to the cave to see the female duo emerging. "Unless, you need a minute?" he continued, raising an eyebrow at Iolandi as she flushed as red as her hair.

"Hey, don't look at me; I'm running on adrenaline now. I could go for an hour more," she said, smiling at him reassuringly even though it didn't reach her eyes.

"I agree with Red; let's just get out of here," said Artemis, ash brown eyes still scanning the sky warily.

"Where are we going to go, though?" asked Richard, turning to look at the eldest of the group, whom knew the land far better than he did considering he'd gotten here not even a day ago.

Hadvar looked around, his eyes darting from they'd just left mountain to a mountain far off in the distance, just visible on the horizon behind a curtain of trees. "I'm pretty sure I know where we are," he said, pointing to the far-off mountains. "That's the Moricorm mountain range there, and that-" he pointed to something even harder to see through the trees, but, closer than the mountains and barely visible, Richard could see an expanse of water glistening. "- is Lake Ilinalta…. From what I can tell, Riverwood is probably the closest town from here, about two and half hours, maybe two hours away if we're quick. My uncle's the blacksmith there; I'm sure he'd be able to give us a place to stay for now."

Richard nodded, turning to the girls as they joined them outside the tunnel entrance. "Sound like a plan?" he asked.

"What plan?" asked Artemis sourly, "All we can do is go to the village, but what then? How will we get home with a huge _dragon_ flying around?" she asked.

Richard shrugged. "No idea. I'm just going with the flow," he said cheerfully, making the blonde archer growl at him as he turned back to Hadvar.

"Riverwood sounds like the best bet. Lead the way," he said.

Hadvar nodded before setting off on the path, ignoring exhaustion in favor of getting home. Richard inhaled deeply through his nose, trying to keep himself awake enough to follow. It had been a long day, and he had a feeling it wouldn't be over for a while yet.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

The path led to a road after fifteen minutes, and Hadvar became surer of their journey the closer to the lake they got. "The lake is the source of the White River, the longest river in all of Skyrim! I heard it stretches all the way up north to the Sea of Ghosts, though I've never seen if that's actually true or not. It passes right by Riverwood, so all we really need to do is follow the river, and we'll see the village in no time!" he'd said excitedly as the lake became a little more visible through the trees.

Richard could understand some of his enthusiasm; they were heading towards his home, after all. However, the farther they walked, he began to realize with a sickening dread that this was also the direction the dragon had flown. Did that mean that Riverwood was gone as well like Helgen? Or was it still there, clinging onto life defiantly against the dragon's claws? Richard hoped they would find a perfectly peaceful village instead of a pile of rubble, not just for Hadvar's sake but for the sake of other innocent human lives as well.

They did end up having to stop; once, on a high outcropping overlooking another section of the road, the Moricorm mountains now looming much closer than they had an hour ago. "You see that ruin up there?" asked Hadvar, pointing up at the mountains with one hand. Richard raised an eyebrow as he saw a large, imposing ruin, far above the river that ran close-by. "Bleak Falls Barrow," continued Hadvar when Artemis and Iolandi were looking as well. "When I was a boy, that place always used to give me nightmares; draugr creeping down the mountain to crawl thought my window at night, that kind of thing. I admit, I still don't much like the look of it."

"Draugr?" asked Artemis, looking as confused as Richard felt.

"Oh, they're an interesting legend!" Iolandi suddenly piped up, her emerald eyes shining with wonder as she looked up at the barrow, "Long ago, when dragons ruled the lands, there were men who worshipped them as gods, creating temples and offering sacrifices to them in their honor. However, when the rule of the dragons ended and the worshippers were destroyed, the Eight Divines cursed the men with eternal undeath for their crimes. They lay in their crypts, forever waiting for grave robbers and treasure hunters to come stumbling into their grasp so that they can kill them for defiling their homes. They can never die; even if you 'kill' one, they just revive a while later and return to their sleep to wait for the next bandit to destroy."

Richard felt his eyebrows rise almost to his hairline as he and Artemis stared at her, dumbfounded. When she realized they were looking at her, Iolandi flushed and waved her hands at them in a placating manner. "D-don't worry, it's just a legend! Besides, if they are real, they can't leave their tombs, so we have nothing to worry about!" she squealed, embarrassed to have worried her friends over a tale.

Hadvar chuckled before getting to his feet and stretching slightly. "We should keep moving; it's the afternoon now, which means sunset isn't far off," he said, which prompted the others to stand quickly as well to continue their trek through the forest roads.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~S**

**A/N: Horrible place to end it, I know, I'm sorry, but this is where it ends for now. The next chapter will hopefully be up soon (but don't get your hopes up just in case). Anyway, see you all next time!  
~Persephone**


	16. Important Authors Note!

**A/N: ATTENTION ALL FANS FOLLOWING THIS STORY:**

**Worry not, I am not deleting and/or giving up this story! However, I've been rereading what I have of it so far and I realized that the story-line is a bit skewed. To get the story where I want it to go, I'm going to have to rewrite/edit several parts, so I have to get started on the rewrite ASAP! I'll start reposting it when I have enough of the chapters redone, but for now you should all know this version of the story is over and done with.**

**Thanks for your continued support!**

**~Persephone**


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